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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. board — a committee
  6. field — farmland
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. field — a subject
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. kick — in football
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. march — the month
  13. degree — from a university
  14. march — music
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. degree — temperature
  18. board — to get on
  19. pass — a permit
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. march — the month
  22. field — for sport
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. pass — to spend time

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