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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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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: row · land · band · wind · temple · cell · stand · safe

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  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. row — a quarrel
  2. land — to come down
  3. wind — moving air
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cell — in biology
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. land — a country
  9. band — a ring
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. land — ground
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. stand — to bear
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. row — to paddle
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. row — a line
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. band — a music group
  23. stand — for spectators
  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