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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 120 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: temple · charge · field · game · bark · march · tear · mine

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. tear — from crying
  4. march — music
  5. charge — electricity
  6. tear — to rip
  7. game — a match
  8. tear — from crying
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. march — the month
  11. game — wild animals
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. field — a subject
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. charge — a price
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. march — the month
  18. charge — in control
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. bark — to shout
  21. field — farmland
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. mine — for digging
  24. bark — of a tree

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