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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. squash — the sport
  3. board — to get on
  4. date — the fruit
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. board — a committee
  8. snap — to click
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. ball — a dance
  14. degree — temperature
  15. squash — to crush
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. object — a thing
  19. object — an aim
  20. object — to protest
  21. ball — a great time
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. degree — from a university
  24. snap — to snap out of it

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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