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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: coach · face · temple · last · march · bound · ball · land

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. bound — obliged
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. face — to confront
  5. march — the month
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. face — part of the head
  8. last — final
  9. bound — certain
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. ball — a dance
  14. march — the month
  15. land — a country
  16. land — to come down
  17. last — to go on
  18. face — to point toward
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. last — finally
  21. ball — a great time
  22. land — ground
  23. march — music
  24. bound — tied together

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