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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: drill · temple · kid · wind · last · rock · band · capital

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. rock — a stone
  3. last — to go on
  4. band — a ring
  5. drill — army training
  6. drill — the tool
  7. last — final
  8. kid — child
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. drill — a practice
  12. kid — to tease
  13. rock — music
  14. capital — money
  15. band — a music group
  16. wind — moving air
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. capital — a city
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. last — finally
  23. capital — a big letter
  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