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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: fork · kick · band · lie · stock · ground · temple · wave

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. ground — crushed
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. band — a ring
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. lie — to recline
  10. stock — goods
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. ground — a position
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. band — a music group
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. fork — in a road
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. kick — in football
  20. stock — shares
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. ground — the earth
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. wave — of the sea

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