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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.

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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: rest · temple · date · game · pound · field · toast · mine

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  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. toast — bread
  2. game — a match
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. date — the fruit
  5. field — farmland
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. field — a subject
  10. pound — a weight
  11. mine — for digging
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. rest — a break
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. game — wild animals
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. rest — what's left
  20. field — for sport
  21. rest — what's left
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. pound — to hit hard
  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