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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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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: temple · wound · pop · bass · bank · spell · game · saw

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. pop — soda
  3. spell — letters
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. pop — to visit
  6. wound — an injury
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bass — low music
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. game — a match
  13. saw — the tool
  14. saw — the tool
  15. bank — for money
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. bank — for money
  18. bass — the fish
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. spell — magic
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. spell — a short time
  23. bank — of a river
  24. game — wild animals

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