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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: season · patient · cell · key · mark · temple · field · squash

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. key — for a lock
  4. squash — the sport
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. squash — to crush
  7. field — a subject
  8. season — of the year
  9. mark — a grade
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. cell — a phone
  12. key — in music
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. cell — in biology
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. key — the most important part
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. mark — a trace
  21. field — for sport
  22. season — in sport
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. field — farmland

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