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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: prune · last · pop · cap · leaves · temple · band · bowl

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. prune — to trim
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. last — to go on
  5. cap — of ice
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. last — final
  10. prune — to trim
  11. band — a ring
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. band — a music group
  14. pop — to visit
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. last — finally
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. cap — a lid
  19. cap — a hat
  20. pop — soda
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. pop — music
  24. band — a rubber band

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