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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 · date · march · wind · mug · club · temple · wave

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. wind — moving air
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. mug — a cup
  6. march — the month
  7. date — the fruit
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. march — the month
  10. club — for golf
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. mug — a face
  14. mine — for digging
  15. march — music
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mug — to rob
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. club — for dancing
  23. club — a group
  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