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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. board — to get on
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. cell — a phone
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. club — for dancing
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. club — a group
  13. ball — a great time
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. perch — the fish
  18. cell — in biology
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. board — a committee
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. ball — a dance
  23. club — for golf
  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