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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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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: deal · band · temple · wind · ground · spell · board · lie

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. wind — moving air
  3. band — a ring
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. board — to get on
  8. spell — magic
  9. board — a committee
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. lie — to recline
  13. ground — the earth
  14. wind — moving air
  15. deal — to handle
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. ground — crushed
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. spell — letters
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. ground — a position
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. spell — a short time
  24. deal — an agreement

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