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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: firm · field · cold · content · calf · date · hand · temple

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. hand — in cards
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — a subject
  5. content — happy
  6. firm — decided
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. field — for sport
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. cold — not warm
  14. firm — steady
  15. date — the fruit
  16. hand — help
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. content — the amount
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. firm — a company
  23. cold — an illness
  24. hand — part of the body

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