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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
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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: wind · stem · temple · face · band · stock · season · court

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. face — to confront
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. season — of the year
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. stem — to come from
  7. face — to point toward
  8. wind — moving air
  9. season — in sport
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. court — of a king
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. stock — goods
  14. court — of law
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. court — for sport
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. stock — shares
  20. face — part of the head
  21. wind — moving air
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. band — a ring
  24. band — a music group

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