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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: foot · kid · ball · clip · band · patient · temple · board

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. board — to get on
  5. board — a committee
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. clip — a video
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. kid — child
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. ball — a great time
  15. foot — a measure
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. ball — a dance
  20. clip — for paper
  21. band — a music group
  22. clip — to cut
  23. kid — to tease
  24. foot — part of the body

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