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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 120 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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. tube — the underground
  4. board — a committee
  5. bear — the animal
  6. tube — a container
  7. board — to get on
  8. craft — a skill
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — temperature
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. degree — from a university
  15. capital — a city
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. craft — boats
  18. capital — money

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