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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. row — a line
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. rule — a law
  6. board — to get on
  7. march — the month
  8. content — the amount
  9. board — a committee
  10. content — happy
  11. row — to paddle
  12. degree — an amount
  13. track — to keep track
  14. degree — from a university
  15. court — of law
  16. rule — government
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. track — a path
  21. court — for sport
  22. degree — temperature
  23. court — of a king
  24. track — a song

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