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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: cue · cabinet · temple · band · land · cap · wound · wind

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. cap — of ice
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — an injury
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. cue — a hint
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. band — a music group
  14. cue — for pool
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. wind — moving air
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. cap — a hat
  20. cap — a lid
  21. band — a ring
  22. cue — a signal
  23. land — ground
  24. land — a country

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