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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: stem · arm · chair · field · court · vault · hand · temple

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. hand — help
  4. field — for sport
  5. stem — to come from
  6. chair — a leader
  7. court — for sport
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. vault — a safe
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. hand — in cards
  18. field — a subject
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. court — of law
  23. court — of a king
  24. field — farmland

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