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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: bowl · march · temple · band · jam · date · craft · chest

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. march — the month
  5. band — a ring
  6. chest — of your body
  7. craft — a skill
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. date — the fruit
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. craft — boats
  14. march — music
  15. chest — a box
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. band — a music group
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. march — the month
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. chest — of your body
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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