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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: mine · cue · bark · temple · leaves · game · field · ground

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. game — a match
  3. game — wild animals
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. cue — a hint
  9. cue — for pool
  10. ground — the earth
  11. cue — a signal
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. field — farmland
  14. ground — crushed
  15. mine — for digging
  16. bark — to shout
  17. field — a subject
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. ground — a position
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. field — for sport
  24. leaves — lets stay

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