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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. board — a committee
  5. degree — from a university
  6. board — to get on
  7. cap — a hat
  8. cap — a lid
  9. rash — a series
  10. rash — hasty
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bear — the animal
  15. tube — the underground
  16. degree — temperature
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. bear — the animal
  19. cap — of ice
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. tube — a container
  24. degree — an amount

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