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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: wave · temple · chest · saw · land · field · roll · ball

  1. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. saw — the tool
  3. chest — of your body
  4. land — ground
  5. field — for sport
  6. ball — a dance
  7. field — farmland
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. ball — a great time
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. roll — a cake
  14. land — to come down
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. chest — a box
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. land — a country
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. chest — of your body
  24. field — a subject

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