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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: temple · band · hide · bulb · vault · wound · spell · row

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. row — to paddle
  4. spell — letters
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. bulb — for light
  8. spell — a short time
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. spell — magic
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. vault — a safe
  14. wound — an injury
  15. row — a line
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. bulb — for light
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. wound — an injury
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. band — a music group
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. band — a ring

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