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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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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: temple · firm · wind · present · field · rule · last · cue

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. last — to go on
  3. firm — steady
  4. field — farmland
  5. cue — for pool
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. field — for sport
  8. firm — a company
  9. rule — government
  10. last — finally
  11. wind — moving air
  12. last — final
  13. present — a gift
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. field — a subject
  16. present — the time now
  17. cue — a hint
  18. rule — a law
  19. cue — a signal
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. firm — decided
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. wind — moving air

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