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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 120 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: band · patient · bowl · cap · tear · stem · temple · mark

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. mark — a grade
  3. band — a music group
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. cap — of ice
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. cap — a hat
  12. mark — a trace
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. tear — to rip
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. tear — from crying
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. stem — to come from
  21. band — a ring
  22. tear — from crying
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. cap — a lid

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