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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: wake · temple · mug · field · bark · chair · game · last

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. last — finally
  3. game — a match
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. field — farmland
  6. last — final
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. wake — a trail
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. field — for sport
  14. field — a subject
  15. mug — to rob
  16. bark — to shout
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. mug — a face
  19. mug — a cup
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. last — to go on
  22. chair — a leader
  23. game — wild animals
  24. temple — a place of worship

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