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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — an amount
  3. degree — temperature
  4. lean — thin
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. last — to go on
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. last — final
  14. mine — for digging
  15. board — to get on
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. lean — to bend
  20. board — a committee
  21. fall — to drop
  22. last — finally
  23. fall — the season
  24. fall — to drop

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