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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. staff — employees
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. staff — a stick
  6. board — to get on
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. chip — for betting
  10. degree — an amount
  11. bat — the animal
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. staff — employees
  15. perch — the fish
  16. kick — in football
  17. degree — from a university
  18. degree — temperature
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. chip — to eat
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. branch — a division
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. board — a flat piece

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