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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. shower — rain
  4. march — music
  5. board — to get on
  6. scale — in music
  7. race — a contest
  8. kid — child
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. shower — to wash
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. race — the arms race
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. bear — the animal
  18. march — the month
  19. scale — size or range
  20. kid — to tease
  21. march — the month
  22. bear — the animal
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. race — humankind

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