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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: ground · prune · chest · pop · pound · band · temple · bat

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. bat — the animal
  3. pop — soda
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. ground — a position
  6. pop — to visit
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. pop — music
  9. chest — of your body
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. chest — a box
  16. prune — to trim
  17. chest — of your body
  18. band — a music group
  19. ground — crushed
  20. prune — to trim
  21. ground — the earth
  22. pound — a weight
  23. band — a ring
  24. temple — side of the head

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