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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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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: fan · board · temple · roll · cap · cold · straw · club

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. cold — an illness
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. cap — a hat
  5. cap — of ice
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. cold — not warm
  9. board — to get on
  10. roll — a cake
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. roll — a list
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. club — a group
  17. board — a committee
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. cap — a lid
  20. club — for dancing
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. club — for golf

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