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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: mine · ball · file · content · temple · rest · march · wind

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. file — a tool
  3. march — the month
  4. mine — for digging
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. rest — a break
  8. wind — moving air
  9. file — a document
  10. content — happy
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. rest — what's left
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. march — music
  18. rest — what's left
  19. march — the month
  20. content — the amount
  21. ball — a dance
  22. file — a line of people
  23. ball — a great time
  24. wind — moving air

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