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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · bat · temple · perch · date · file · prune · plane

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. plane — a tool
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. bat — the animal
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. file — a document
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — to trim
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. band — a music group
  20. file — a line of people
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. perch — the fish
  23. file — a tool
  24. date — the fruit

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