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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. board — a committee
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rest — what's left
  8. hand — help
  9. squash — to crush
  10. rest — a break
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. degree — temperature
  14. hand — in cards
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. board — to get on
  17. squash — the sport
  18. degree — an amount

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