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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. board — a committee
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. content — happy
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. pit — in a race
  7. degree — from a university
  8. content — the amount
  9. pit — a hole
  10. board — to get on
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — humankind
  15. degree — temperature
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. branch — a division
  18. race — the arms race
  19. pound — a weight
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. wax — to grow
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. degree — an amount

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