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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: degree · tube · coach · board · cold · bass · row · temple

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. row — a line
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. cold — an illness
  5. bass — low music
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. cold — not warm
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. tube — the underground
  10. bass — the fish
  11. degree — an amount
  12. tube — a container
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. board — a committee
  15. board — to get on
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. row — to paddle
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. degree — from a university
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. degree — temperature
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. bass — the instrument

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