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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. club — a group
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. band — a music group
  6. wound — an injury
  7. land — to come down
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. club — for golf
  11. wound — an injury
  12. perch — the fish
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. band — a ring
  15. bass — low music
  16. club — for dancing
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. date — the fruit
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. bass — the fish
  23. land — ground
  24. land — a country

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