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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. season — of the year
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. board — to get on
  6. board — a committee
  7. clip — a video
  8. squash — to crush
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. squash — the sport
  11. pit — a hole
  12. kid — to tease
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. clip — to cut
  16. row — to paddle
  17. degree — an amount
  18. pit — in a race
  19. degree — temperature
  20. season — in sport
  21. clip — for paper
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. kid — child
  24. degree — from a university

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