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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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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: temple · bowl · jam · straw · rest · face · field · lie

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. rest — a break
  7. face — to confront
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. field — a subject
  11. field — for sport
  12. field — farmland
  13. lie — to recline
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. rest — what's left
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. face — part of the head
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. rest — what's left
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. face — to point toward
  24. straw — dry grass

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