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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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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: wound · chest · cap · fall · content · tear · board · temple

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. chest — a box
  3. cap — a lid
  4. tear — to rip
  5. content — happy
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. fall — to drop
  8. wound — an injury
  9. tear — from crying
  10. board — a committee
  11. chest — of your body
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. cap — of ice
  14. content — the amount
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. cap — a hat
  17. chest — of your body
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. fall — to drop
  20. tear — from crying
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. wound — an injury
  23. fall — the season
  24. temple — side of the head

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