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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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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: shower · cold · temple · board · kick · arm · rule · suit

  1. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. cold — not warm
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. rule — government
  5. shower — to wash
  6. suit — clothes
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. board — to get on
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. suit — in cards
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. kick — in football
  16. rule — a law
  17. board — a committee
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. shower — rain
  22. cold — an illness
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. kick — a thrill

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