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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: field · bound · hand · drill · cell · temple · scale · mate

  1. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. bound — certain
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. bound — tied together
  5. mate — a partner
  6. drill — the tool
  7. cell — a phone
  8. field — a subject
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. mate — to breed
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. drill — army training
  13. hand — in cards
  14. bound — obliged
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. cell — in biology
  19. scale — size or range
  20. mate — a friend
  21. field — for sport
  22. field — farmland
  23. hand — help
  24. drill — a practice

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