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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: court · mate · lean · cell · temple · board · pitch · hand

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. mate — a partner
  5. hand — help
  6. lean — to bend
  7. mate — to breed
  8. lean — thin
  9. pitch — completely
  10. mate — a friend
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. board — a committee
  15. hand — in cards
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. court — of law
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cell — a phone
  21. court — of a king
  22. board — to get on
  23. court — for sport
  24. board — a flat piece

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