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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.

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: board · face · pitcher · season · present · temple · bark · cold

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. cold — not warm
  3. season — of the year
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. season — in sport
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. present — a gift
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. face — to confront
  11. present — the time now
  12. face — part of the head
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. cold — an illness
  15. bark — to shout
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. board — a committee
  20. present — there
  21. face — to point toward
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. board — to get on

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