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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: field · temple · bat · calf · band · wake · lean · last

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. last — final
  3. band — a ring
  4. lean — to bend
  5. field — for sport
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. bat — the animal
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. band — a music group
  12. lean — thin
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. field — a subject
  15. wake — a trail
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. last — finally
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. field — farmland
  21. last — to go on
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. temple — side of the head

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