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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 120 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 captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  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. board — to get on
  2. land — a country
  3. degree — from a university
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. degree — temperature
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. spell — a short time
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — a box
  12. rash — hasty
  13. degree — an amount
  14. rash — a series
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. spell — magic
  18. land — ground
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. chest — of your body
  21. spell — letters
  22. land — to come down
  23. trunk — of a car
  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