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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. track — a song
  3. cap — of ice
  4. march — the month
  5. board — a committee
  6. board — to get on
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. season — of the year
  10. degree — an amount
  11. track — to keep track
  12. march — music
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. degree — temperature
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. season — in sport
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. march — the month
  20. cap — a hat
  21. track — a path
  22. cap — a lid
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. safe — out of danger

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