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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. cap — a hat
  3. rest — a break
  4. land — ground
  5. cap — a lid
  6. land — a country
  7. rest — what's left
  8. wind — moving air
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. cap — of ice
  11. board — to get on
  12. mug — to rob
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. board — a committee
  16. mug — a cup
  17. rest — what's left
  18. land — to come down
  19. wind — moving air
  20. degree — an amount
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. degree — temperature
  23. mug — a face
  24. pound — a weight

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