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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: wave · stem · band · spring · land · march · temple · degree

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. land — ground
  5. march — the month
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. stem — to come from
  8. land — a country
  9. degree — from a university
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. land — to come down
  12. march — the month
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. band — a music group
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — of water
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. spring — the season
  20. band — a ring
  21. degree — an amount
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. degree — temperature
  24. march — music

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