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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.

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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: field · spring · wound · temple · rest · last · arm · wind

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. spring — the season
  3. rest — what's left
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. wound — an injury
  8. spring — a coil
  9. last — final
  10. last — finally
  11. last — to go on
  12. field — a subject
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. field — for sport
  15. wind — moving air
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. rest — what's left
  19. spring — of water
  20. field — farmland
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. wind — moving air

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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