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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. chest — of your body
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. degree — temperature
  7. degree — an amount
  8. march — the month
  9. board — to get on
  10. game — a match
  11. pass — a permit
  12. march — music
  13. plane — a tool
  14. chest — of your body
  15. game — wild animals
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. board — a committee
  18. swing — in golf
  19. degree — from a university
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. swing — music
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. swing — to play on
  24. chest — a box

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