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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. degree — from a university
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. board — to get on
  7. field — for sport
  8. board — a committee
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. field — a subject
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. present — there
  14. field — farmland
  15. present — a gift
  16. bass — the fish
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. hand — help
  19. degree — an amount
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. hand — in cards
  22. present — the time now
  23. bass — low music
  24. degree — temperature

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