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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 116 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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. cue — a hint
  4. degree — from a university
  5. bulb — for light
  6. degree — an amount
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. field — for sport
  9. board — a committee
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. degree — temperature
  12. field — farmland
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. cue — for pool
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. bulb — for light
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. field — a subject
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. content — the amount
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. branch — a division
  23. cue — a signal
  24. content — happy

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