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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: capital · field · hand · root · mate · wake · bound · temple

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. mate — a friend
  3. root — of a word
  4. bound — tied together
  5. capital — money
  6. mate — to breed
  7. root — the cause
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. field — farmland
  10. capital — a city
  11. field — a subject
  12. bound — obliged
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. hand — in cards
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. hand — help
  18. root — of a plant
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. bound — certain
  21. field — for sport
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. mate — a partner
  24. wake — a trail

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