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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. board — a committee
  5. spring — of water
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. degree — temperature
  9. court — of law
  10. spring — a coil
  11. degree — an amount
  12. degree — from a university
  13. court — for sport
  14. toast — bread
  15. row — to paddle
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. board — to get on
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. spring — the season
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. court — of a king
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. row — a line

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