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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. file — a document
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. object — an aim
  6. march — the month
  7. march — music
  8. file — a tool
  9. content — happy
  10. degree — temperature
  11. file — a line of people
  12. march — the month
  13. pit — a hole
  14. board — a committee
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. pit — in a race
  18. object — a thing
  19. content — the amount
  20. degree — an amount
  21. board — to get on
  22. degree — from a university
  23. object — to protest
  24. content — videos and posts

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