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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cell · mate · season · wound · pop · march · temple · band

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. pop — music
  3. season — in sport
  4. cell — a phone
  5. march — the month
  6. mate — to breed
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. wound — an injury
  9. pop — soda
  10. march — music
  11. cell — in biology
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. season — of the year
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. mate — a partner
  18. mate — a friend
  19. band — a ring
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. march — the month
  22. wound — an injury
  23. band — a music group
  24. season — to add flavour

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