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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. board — a committee
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. row — a line
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. cap — of ice
  8. snap — to click
  9. degree — from a university
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. cap — a lid
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. cap — a hat
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. row — to paddle
  19. degree — temperature
  20. board — to get on
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. pass — a permit
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. stand — to bear

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