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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pound · court · deal · tube · drill · board · mate · temple

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. board — a committee
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. court — for sport
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. drill — army training
  7. court — of law
  8. mate — a friend
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. mate — a partner
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. tube — a container
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. deal — to handle
  15. pound — a weight
  16. court — of a king
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. drill — the tool
  19. mate — to breed
  20. board — to get on
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. drill — a practice
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. deal — an agreement

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