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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: temple · row · rock · chair · spring · cabinet · field · season

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. spring — of water
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. field — a subject
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. chair — a leader
  10. field — for sport
  11. rock — a stone
  12. season — in sport
  13. row — a line
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. field — farmland
  18. rock — music
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. spring — a coil
  21. spring — the season
  22. season — of the year
  23. row — to paddle
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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