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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — temperature
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. drill — the tool
  5. degree — an amount
  6. board — to get on
  7. staff — employees
  8. court — for sport
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. drill — a practice
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. file — a line of people
  13. file — a tool
  14. squash — the sport
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bat — the animal
  17. court — of law
  18. board — a committee
  19. court — of a king
  20. file — a document
  21. squash — to crush
  22. staff — a stick
  23. staff — employees
  24. drill — army training

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