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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. present — a gift
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. band — a ring
  6. band — a music group
  7. board — a committee
  8. field — for sport
  9. degree — temperature
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. board — to get on
  12. present — the time now
  13. degree — from a university
  14. bat — the animal
  15. degree — an amount
  16. present — there
  17. field — a subject
  18. field — farmland

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