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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: board · rest · fine · wave · temple · cold · chest · lash

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. fine — high quality
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. chest — a box
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. cold — not warm
  8. rest — what's left
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. fine — all right
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. rest — what's left
  17. cold — an illness
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. rest — a break
  20. board — to get on
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. chest — of your body
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. board — a committee

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