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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: cap · land · pop · temple · season · wind · leaves · rash

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. rash — hasty
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. land — ground
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. pop — to visit
  9. cap — a hat
  10. season — in sport
  11. cap — a lid
  12. cap — of ice
  13. land — a country
  14. pop — soda
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. land — to come down
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. pop — music
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — moving air
  22. season — of the year
  23. rash — a series
  24. leaves — to go away

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