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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. chest — a box
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. chest — of your body
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. tube — the underground
  11. cold — not warm
  12. board — a committee
  13. tube — a container
  14. cold — an illness
  15. chest — of your body
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. capital — a city
  18. court — of law
  19. court — for sport
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. capital — money
  22. board — to get on
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. court — of a king

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