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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. cell — a phone
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. spring — a coil
  6. spring — the season
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. pass — a permit
  10. degree — from a university
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. spring — of water
  13. cell — in biology
  14. fall — to drop
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. fall — to drop
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. board — to get on
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — an amount
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. fall — the season
  24. lie — to recline

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