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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 · bat · bound · last · rash · field · fork · saw

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. field — farmland
  3. rash — hasty
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. bound — obliged
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bound — tied together
  8. bat — the animal
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. saw — the tool
  11. rash — a series
  12. last — to go on
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. last — final
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. field — for sport
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. fork — in a road
  20. bound — certain
  21. saw — the tool
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. last — finally

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