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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: temple · wound · arm · branch · squash · ball · chair · field

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. chair — a leader
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. field — a subject
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. branch — a division
  9. wound — an injury
  10. squash — the sport
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. ball — a dance
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. field — for sport
  15. squash — to crush
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. ball — a great time
  18. wound — an injury
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. temple — side of the head

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com