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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: temple · land · cue · season · chest · last · band · date

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. last — final
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. season — in sport
  5. season — of the year
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. last — finally
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. cue — for pool
  10. last — to go on
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. cue — a hint
  13. land — a country
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. chest — of your body
  16. cue — a signal
  17. chest — of your body
  18. band — a ring
  19. land — to come down
  20. date — the fruit
  21. chest — a box
  22. land — ground
  23. band — a music group
  24. temple — a place of worship

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