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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. board — to get on
  5. degree — from a university
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. current — electric
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. stock — goods
  10. board — a committee
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. bear — the animal
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. current — of water
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. sharp — clever
  19. degree — temperature
  20. bear — the animal
  21. stock — shares
  22. branch — a division
  23. current — happening now
  24. stock — a soup base

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