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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: key · march · bound · temple · stock · game · bat · field

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. field — for sport
  5. key — for a lock
  6. bound — certain
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. bound — tied together
  9. bound — obliged
  10. bat — the animal
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. stock — goods
  14. stock — shares
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. key — in music
  17. march — music
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. march — the month
  20. field — a subject
  21. game — wild animals
  22. game — a match
  23. key — the most important part
  24. march — the month

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