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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
468
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: cell · chip · field · bulb · temple · shower · roll · wound

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. shower — to wash
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. field — farmland
  8. wound — an injury
  9. field — for sport
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. cell — in biology
  12. shower — rain
  13. roll — a list
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cell — a phone
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. chip — for betting
  20. chip — to eat
  21. bulb — for light
  22. field — a subject
  23. bulb — for light
  24. wound — an injury

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