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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 · bark · wound · row · coach · ball · suit

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. ball — a great time
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. wound — an injury
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. bark — to shout
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. suit — clothes
  10. suit — to fit
  11. row — to paddle
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. wound — an injury
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. band — a music group
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. suit — in cards
  22. ball — a dance
  23. row — a line
  24. bark — of a tree

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