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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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. game — a match
  3. rash — a series
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cell — a phone
  8. rash — hasty
  9. degree — from a university
  10. degree — an amount
  11. last — to go on
  12. last — finally
  13. bank — of a river
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. degree — temperature
  16. board — a committee
  17. game — wild animals
  18. cell — in biology
  19. bat — the animal
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. bank — for money
  22. last — final
  23. bank — for money
  24. bat — in an idiom

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