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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: band · cap · perch · march · pop · prune · patient · temple

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. march — the month
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — to trim
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. pop — to visit
  10. cap — a lid
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. cap — of ice
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. band — a ring
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. cap — a hat
  19. march — the month
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. perch — the fish
  22. march — music
  23. pop — music
  24. pop — soda

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