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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: wind · degree · chair · bass · band · temple

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. band — a music group
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. band — a ring
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. chair — a leader
  8. wind — moving air
  9. degree — from a university
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. bass — the fish
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. degree — temperature
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. bass — low music
  18. degree — an amount

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