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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: mate · court · temple · band · board · sharp · cap · straw

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. band — a ring
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. mate — a friend
  7. mate — a partner
  8. court — for sport
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. board — a committee
  11. sharp — clever
  12. board — to get on
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. mate — to breed
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. court — of a king
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. cap — a hat
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. cap — a lid
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. band — a music group
  23. court — of law
  24. band — a rubber band

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