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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: band · temple · capital · drill · plane · net · scale · shower

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. net — in sport
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. band — a ring
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. drill — the tool
  9. capital — money
  10. net — for catching
  11. scale — in music
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. plane — a tool
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. shower — to wash
  16. drill — a practice
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. shower — rain
  19. net — after costs
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. capital — a city
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. scale — size or range
  24. band — a music group

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