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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 124 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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  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. board — a flat piece
  2. degree — from a university
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. board — a committee
  5. cap — of ice
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. field — farmland
  8. date — the fruit
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. race — humankind
  11. field — a subject
  12. scale — size or range
  13. board — to get on
  14. race — a contest
  15. cap — a lid
  16. degree — an amount
  17. scale — in music
  18. field — for sport
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. race — the arms race
  22. degree — temperature
  23. date — on the calendar
  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