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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. cap — of ice
  3. cap — a lid
  4. clip — for paper
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. board — a committee
  7. net — in sport
  8. clip — a video
  9. board — to get on
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bark — to shout
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. clip — to cut
  14. net — after costs
  15. game — wild animals
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. degree — temperature
  19. net — for catching
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. degree — an amount
  22. degree — from a university
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. cap — a hat

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