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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: land · temple · ruler · bark · cell · last · track · field

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. field — farmland
  3. last — finally
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. land — a country
  9. land — to come down
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. last — final
  13. cell — a phone
  14. field — for sport
  15. track — a song
  16. track — to keep track
  17. cell — in biology
  18. land — ground
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. track — a path
  21. field — a subject
  22. bark — to shout
  23. last — to go on
  24. cell — in a prison

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