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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: cold · game · perch · ruler · spring · kick · temple · board

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. board — a committee
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. spring — the season
  8. perch — the fish
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. cold — not warm
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. cold — an illness
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. spring — a coil
  17. game — a match
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. kick — in football
  21. game — wild animals
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. spring — of water

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