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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. bass — the fish
  4. board — a committee
  5. spring — of water
  6. degree — from a university
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. degree — temperature
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. board — to get on
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. spring — a coil
  13. present — there
  14. present — a gift
  15. bound — obliged
  16. bound — certain
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. bass — low music
  21. spring — the season
  22. bound — tied together
  23. present — the time now
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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