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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 120 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: deal · temple · wind · pound · band · present

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. present — the time now
  4. present — there
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. band — a music group
  7. band — a ring
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. wind — moving air
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. pound — a weight
  13. deal — to handle
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. wind — moving air
  18. present — a gift

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