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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 120 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: bowl · temple · bound · fan · chest · capital · bore · game

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. bore — to tire
  6. bound — tied together
  7. game — a match
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. bound — obliged
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. capital — a city
  12. bore — to drill
  13. game — wild animals
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. bound — certain
  17. capital — money
  18. chest — of your body
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — a box

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