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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. wind — moving air
  3. degree — an amount
  4. degree — from a university
  5. club — for dancing
  6. rest — a break
  7. last — to go on
  8. last — finally
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. cap — a hat
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. club — a group
  14. board — a committee
  15. rest — what's left
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. wind — moving air
  18. last — final
  19. rest — what's left
  20. club — for golf
  21. board — to get on
  22. mine — for digging
  23. cap — a lid
  24. degree — temperature

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