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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. board — a committee
  3. swing — music
  4. degree — an amount
  5. court — of a king
  6. court — for sport
  7. spell — a short time
  8. court — of law
  9. degree — from a university
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. rash — hasty
  12. content — happy
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. spell — magic
  15. content — the amount
  16. swing — in golf
  17. swing — to play on
  18. degree — temperature
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. rash — a series
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. board — to get on
  24. content — videos and posts

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