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

Word bank: wind · chest · mate · bear · temple · band · arm · season

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. chest — a box
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. band — a music group
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. season — of the year
  9. season — in sport
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. mate — a partner
  14. band — a ring
  15. mate — a friend
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. wind — moving air
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. wind — moving air
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bear — the animal

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