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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: mine · spell · straw · temple · pop · wake · band · date

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. pop — music
  7. spell — letters
  8. wake — a trail
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. spell — a short time
  13. mine — for digging
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. pop — to visit
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. date — the fruit
  20. band — a ring
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. spell — magic
  23. pop — soda
  24. band — a rubber band

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