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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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. staff — employees
  3. mate — a partner
  4. mate — to breed
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. mate — a friend
  7. rule — a law
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rest — a break
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. staff — employees
  13. degree — an amount
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. board — a committee
  16. degree — temperature
  17. rest — what's left
  18. pitch — completely
  19. degree — from a university
  20. staff — a stick
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. rule — government
  24. arm — part of the body

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