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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: pound · fine · tear · straw · temple · roll · race · band

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. roll — a list
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. fine — high quality
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. band — a ring
  9. fine — all right
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. race — the arms race
  13. race — humankind
  14. band — a music group
  15. tear — from crying
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. pound — a weight
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. tear — to rip
  20. tear — from crying
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. roll — a cake
  24. fine — a penalty

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