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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. march — the month
  3. board — a committee
  4. tube — the underground
  5. march — the month
  6. march — music
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. tube — a container
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. spring — the season
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. spring — of water
  17. bat — the animal
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. spring — a coil
  24. board — to get on

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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