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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. present — there
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. last — final
  5. last — finally
  6. board — to get on
  7. board — a committee
  8. degree — temperature
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. pound — a weight
  11. bat — the animal
  12. band — a ring
  13. present — the time now
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. degree — an amount
  16. saw — the tool
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. present — a gift
  19. band — a music group
  20. last — to go on
  21. saw — the tool
  22. degree — from a university
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. band — a rubber band

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