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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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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. degree — from a university
  3. wound — an injury
  4. last — to go on
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. net — after costs
  7. last — final
  8. bank — for money
  9. degree — an amount
  10. last — finally
  11. capital — a city
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. net — for catching
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bass — the fish
  16. bass — low music
  17. degree — temperature
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. capital — money
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. bank — of a river
  22. net — in sport
  23. bank — for money
  24. board — to get on

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