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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.

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 · bat · temple · cold · wave · field · stock · charge

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  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. stock — a soup base
  2. stock — shares
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. board — a committee
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. field — farmland
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. charge — a price
  10. cold — not warm
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. field — a subject
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. stock — goods
  15. field — for sport
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. cold — an illness
  18. bat — the animal
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. charge — electricity
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. charge — in control
  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