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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. board — a committee
  3. degree — from a university
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. bound — obliged
  6. land — ground
  7. march — the month
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. land — a country
  11. degree — an amount
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. rash — a series
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bound — tied together
  17. board — to get on
  18. bound — certain
  19. march — the month
  20. rash — hasty
  21. wind — moving air
  22. march — music
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. degree — temperature

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