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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. content — happy
  3. content — the amount
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. chest — a box
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. chest — of your body
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. fall — to drop
  14. pitch — completely
  15. fall — to drop
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bat — the animal
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. fall — the season
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. board — to get on

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