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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 116 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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. branch — a division
  4. shower — to wash
  5. deal — to handle
  6. court — of a king
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. degree — temperature
  9. shower — rain
  10. court — for sport
  11. row — to paddle
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. ball — a dance
  14. degree — an amount
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. degree — from a university
  18. board — to get on
  19. board — a committee
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. court — of law
  23. row — a line
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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