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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — temperature
  3. board — to get on
  4. band — a ring
  5. content — happy
  6. pop — to visit
  7. content — the amount
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. board — a committee
  11. degree — from a university
  12. swing — in golf
  13. land — to come down
  14. fork — in a road
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. land — ground
  17. band — a music group
  18. swing — music
  19. swing — to play on
  20. pop — soda
  21. pop — music
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. land — a country
  24. band — a rubber band

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