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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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. board — to get on
  3. current — of water
  4. season — of the year
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. mine — for digging
  8. degree — from a university
  9. bat — the animal
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. ball — a dance
  13. current — electric
  14. current — happening now
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. degree — temperature
  17. mark — a trace
  18. board — a committee
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. season — in sport
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. mark — a grade
  24. ball — a great time

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