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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. present — there
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. root — the cause
  6. degree — an amount
  7. present — the time now
  8. board — to get on
  9. present — a gift
  10. degree — from a university
  11. chair — a leader
  12. wind — moving air
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. root — of a plant
  17. degree — temperature
  18. board — a committee
  19. root — of a word
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. bark — to shout
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. cold — not warm

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