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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. board — to get on
  3. degree — from a university
  4. saw — the tool
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. ground — the earth
  8. board — a committee
  9. cell — in biology
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. ground — crushed
  12. wind — moving air
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. ground — a position
  15. degree — temperature
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. wind — moving air
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. degree — an amount
  24. wind — to turn a key

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