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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. stem — to come from
  3. degree — from a university
  4. ball — a great time
  5. board — to get on
  6. bark — to shout
  7. degree — temperature
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. sharp — clever
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. degree — an amount
  24. board — a committee

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