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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.

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: band · temple · prune · spell · wake · last · wind · hand

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. spell — a short time
  3. prune — to trim
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. spell — letters
  6. wind — moving air
  7. hand — help
  8. hand — in cards
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. wake — a trail
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. prune — to trim
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. wind — moving air
  17. band — a ring
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. last — to go on
  20. spell — magic
  21. band — a music group
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. last — finally
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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