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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: chest · row · wave · field · trunk · date · temple · land

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. row — a line
  3. field — a subject
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. row — to paddle
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. date — the fruit
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. chest — of your body
  14. land — ground
  15. land — a country
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. chest — a box
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. field — farmland
  22. field — for sport
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. chest — of your body

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