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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. ball — a dance
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. board — a committee
  7. hand — in cards
  8. net — in sport
  9. net — after costs
  10. board — to get on
  11. kid — child
  12. hand — help
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. kid — to tease
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. ball — a great time
  19. net — for catching
  20. cap — a lid
  21. cap — a hat
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  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