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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: board · spring · band · craft · stem · temple · capital · wind

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. stem — to come from
  3. board — a committee
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. craft — a skill
  6. wind — moving air
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. capital — a city
  9. spring — of water
  10. wind — moving air
  11. board — to get on
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. spring — the season
  16. capital — money
  17. spring — a coil
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. craft — boats
  20. band — a music group
  21. band — a ring
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. temple — side of the head

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