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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — a box
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. chest — of your body
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. land — to come down
  10. lean — thin
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. land — ground
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. wind — moving air
  18. board — to get on
  19. board — a committee
  20. bound — obliged
  21. lean — to bend
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. bound — tied together
  24. bound — certain

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