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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — to rip
  5. degree — an amount
  6. bank — for money
  7. rash — hasty
  8. board — a committee
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. rash — a series
  11. cap — a hat
  12. board — to get on
  13. press — a publisher
  14. cap — a lid
  15. degree — from a university
  16. press — newspapers
  17. court — for sport
  18. tear — from crying
  19. bank — of a river
  20. court — of a king
  21. degree — temperature
  22. bank — for money
  23. cap — of ice
  24. press — to push

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