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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: bound · cabinet · row · field · temple · cell · current · march

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. cell — a phone
  4. field — a subject
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. march — the month
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. field — farmland
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. row — to paddle
  13. cell — in biology
  14. bound — certain
  15. current — of water
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. current — electric
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. current — happening now
  20. bound — obliged
  21. march — the month
  22. march — music
  23. field — for sport
  24. bound — tied together

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