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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. board — a committee
  3. clip — a video
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. court — of a king
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. wind — moving air
  8. court — for sport
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. rest — what's left
  11. court — of law
  12. rest — what's left
  13. wind — moving air
  14. drill — army training
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. rest — a break
  17. board — to get on
  18. clip — for paper
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. drill — a practice
  21. drill — the tool
  22. clip — to cut
  23. toast — bread
  24. temple — a place of worship

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