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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: board · wind · chip · temple · bowl · cell · wax · capital

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. capital — money
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. cell — a phone
  6. wind — moving air
  7. cell — in biology
  8. wind — moving air
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. board — to get on
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. chip — for betting
  16. board — a committee
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. wax — to grow
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. chip — to eat
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. capital — a city

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