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

Word bank: chest · cold · pit · rest · club · perch · board · cap

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. club — for golf
  3. club — a group
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. pit — a hole
  6. cap — a lid
  7. rest — what's left
  8. perch — the fish
  9. pit — in a race
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rest — a break
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. club — for dancing
  14. board — a committee
  15. board — to get on
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — a box
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. cap — a hat
  20. cold — not warm
  21. chest — of your body
  22. cold — an illness
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. cap — of ice

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