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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: face · pass · temple · kid · tear · tube · board · shower

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. tube — a container
  3. shower — rain
  4. tube — the underground
  5. face — part of the head
  6. shower — to wash
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. kid — to tease
  11. tear — to rip
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. board — to get on
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. pass — a permit
  17. face — to confront
  18. face — to point toward
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. tear — from crying
  24. kid — child

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