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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 120 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.

Make a worksheet

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: temple · season · spell · cabinet · chest · prune · band · content

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. content — happy
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. chest — of your body
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. season — of the year
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. content — the amount
  10. chest — a box
  11. band — a music group
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. chest — of your body
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. band — a ring
  18. spell — magic
  19. season — in sport
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — to trim
  22. spell — letters
  23. spell — a short time
  24. cabinet — ministers

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