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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'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. degree — from a university
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. ground — a position
  8. stock — shares
  9. degree — temperature
  10. mine — for digging
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. ground — the earth
  13. club — a group
  14. stock — goods
  15. wind — moving air
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. degree — an amount
  19. club — for dancing
  20. club — for golf
  21. ground — crushed
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. board — to get on

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