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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  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. tube — a container
  3. wound — an injury
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. board — a committee
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. board — to get on
  15. tube — the underground
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. pitch — completely
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cell — a phone
  21. wound — an injury
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. arm — part of the body
  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