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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. wind — moving air
  3. track — a path
  4. degree — from a university
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. degree — temperature
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. track — to keep track
  9. snap — to click
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. tear — to rip
  12. swing — to play on
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. tear — from crying
  15. swing — music
  16. degree — an amount
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. wind — moving air
  19. board — to get on
  20. swing — in golf
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. track — a song
  23. tear — from crying
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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