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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: board · game · cell · temple · lean · drill · foot · file

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. game — wild animals
  3. board — a committee
  4. game — a match
  5. drill — a practice
  6. cell — a phone
  7. file — a line of people
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. lean — thin
  11. lean — to bend
  12. cell — in biology
  13. board — to get on
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. file — a document
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. drill — army training
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. file — a tool
  21. drill — the tool
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. temple — side of the head

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