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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: band · straw · kid · stand · face · degree · temple · wave

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. kid — child
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. band — a ring
  6. face — to point toward
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. degree — temperature
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. band — a music group
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. kid — to tease
  16. face — part of the head
  17. degree — from a university
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. degree — an amount
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. stand — to bear
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. face — to confront

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