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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: tube · pound · march · fan · chest · band · temple · prune

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — to trim
  5. pound — a weight
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. tube — a container
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. band — a music group
  10. chest — a box
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. march — music
  14. march — the month
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. band — a ring
  20. chest — of your body
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. chest — of your body
  23. march — the month
  24. temple — side of the head

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