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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 ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. spell — letters
  3. board — a committee
  4. season — in sport
  5. board — to get on
  6. root — the cause
  7. root — of a word
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. march — the month
  10. season — of the year
  11. march — the month
  12. spell — a short time
  13. degree — temperature
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. root — of a plant
  16. spell — magic
  17. degree — from a university
  18. degree — an amount
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. march — music
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. sharp — clever

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