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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 120 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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. degree — temperature
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. craft — boats
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. capital — a city
  8. ball — a dance
  9. craft — a skill
  10. squash — the sport
  11. board — a committee
  12. net — in sport
  13. board — to get on
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. squash — to crush
  16. capital — money
  17. degree — from a university
  18. degree — an amount
  19. spring — a coil
  20. net — for catching
  21. spring — of water
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. spring — the season
  24. net — after costs

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