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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: drill · temple · face · pop · cell · land · band · scale

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. cell — a phone
  3. pop — soda
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. land — to come down
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. pop — music
  10. pop — to visit
  11. land — a country
  12. scale — size or range
  13. scale — in music
  14. face — to point toward
  15. band — a ring
  16. band — a music group
  17. face — to confront
  18. drill — army training
  19. land — ground
  20. face — part of the head
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. cell — in biology
  23. drill — the tool
  24. drill — a practice

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