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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: tear · fork · game · band · season · temple · roll · cell

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. tear — to rip
  3. band — a ring
  4. band — a music group
  5. season — in sport
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. cell — in biology
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. season — of the year
  11. game — a match
  12. tear — from crying
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. cell — a phone
  15. roll — a cake
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. fork — in a road
  19. tear — from crying
  20. game — wild animals
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. roll — a list
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. temple — a place of worship

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