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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 116 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 haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. lean — to bend
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. degree — from a university
  5. lean — thin
  6. board — a committee
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. mine — for digging
  9. board — to get on
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. pitch — completely
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. bank — for money
  15. degree — temperature
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. land — ground
  19. land — to come down
  20. bank — of a river
  21. bank — for money
  22. degree — an amount
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. land — a country

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