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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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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 · march · hand · lash · bear · temple · snap · file

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. march — the month
  4. bear — the animal
  5. board — a committee
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. file — a tool
  8. bear — the animal
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. hand — help
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. snap — to click
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. board — to get on
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. march — the month
  19. file — a line of people
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. march — music
  22. hand — in cards
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. file — a document

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