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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: staff · bound · land · bowl · tear · bass · temple · field

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. staff — a stick
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. bound — obliged
  5. land — a country
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. staff — employees
  8. field — a subject
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. staff — employees
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. tear — from crying
  13. land — to come down
  14. field — for sport
  15. tear — to rip
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. bass — the fish
  18. bass — low music
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. bound — tied together
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. field — farmland
  23. tear — from crying
  24. bound — certain

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