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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: roll · temple · wound · band · swing · rash · row · tear

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  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. row — to paddle
  3. roll — a cake
  4. row — a line
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. rash — a series
  7. roll — a list
  8. tear — from crying
  9. rash — hasty
  10. wound — an injury
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. band — a music group
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. band — a ring
  17. wound — an injury
  18. swing — to play on
  19. tear — from crying
  20. swing — music
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. tear — to rip
  23. swing — in golf
  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