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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: temple · wound · mug · race · season · cap · band · chair

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. mug — a face
  4. wound — an injury
  5. cap — a lid
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. chair — a leader
  9. band — a music group
  10. season — in sport
  11. race — the arms race
  12. wound — an injury
  13. mug — to rob
  14. season — of the year
  15. race — humankind
  16. cap — of ice
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. cap — a hat
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. race — a contest
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. mug — a cup
  24. band — a ring

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