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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 · row · scale · bank · temple · mouse · band · wound

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. band — a music group
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. row — a line
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. wound — an injury
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bank — of a river
  12. scale — size or range
  13. wind — moving air
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. row — to paddle
  16. bank — for money
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. wind — moving air
  20. scale — in music
  21. band — a ring
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. bank — for money

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