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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: chair · field · snap · cabinet · land · rock · band · temple

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. band — a ring
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. rock — music
  7. band — a music group
  8. field — farmland
  9. snap — to click
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. land — a country
  13. rock — a stone
  14. field — for sport
  15. field — a subject
  16. land — to come down
  17. land — ground
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. band — a rubber band

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