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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. degree — temperature
  3. cold — an illness
  4. deal — to handle
  5. chest — a box
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. fall — to drop
  8. board — to get on
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. chest — of your body
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. degree — from a university
  13. degree — an amount
  14. fall — the season
  15. field — farmland
  16. chest — of your body
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. field — a subject
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. field — for sport
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. cold — not warm
  24. fall — to drop

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