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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.

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: kick · land · temple · last · plane · ground · wake · band

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. last — to go on
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. band — a ring
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. land — a country
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. band — a music group
  11. last — finally
  12. land — to come down
  13. kick — in football
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. ground — crushed
  16. wake — a trail
  17. ground — the earth
  18. land — ground
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. last — final
  22. plane — a tool
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. wake — before a funeral

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