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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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 · cold · temple · march · arm · key · ball · current

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  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. temple — a place of worship
  2. field — a subject
  3. march — music
  4. cold — an illness
  5. current — electric
  6. key — in music
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. current — of water
  10. field — farmland
  11. field — for sport
  12. key — for a lock
  13. key — the most important part
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. cold — not warm
  19. ball — a dance
  20. current — happening now
  21. ball — a great time
  22. march — the month
  23. march — the month
  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