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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. degree — temperature
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. board — a committee
  6. ground — a position
  7. ground — crushed
  8. content — the amount
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — to cut
  11. fall — to drop
  12. content — happy
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. degree — from a university
  15. game — a match
  16. clip — for paper
  17. degree — an amount
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. fall — the season
  20. ground — the earth
  21. board — to get on
  22. fall — to drop
  23. game — wild animals
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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