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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 120 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 captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mate — to breed
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. net — after costs
  6. net — in sport
  7. degree — from a university
  8. capital — money
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. degree — an amount
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. pop — music
  14. mate — a friend
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. capital — a city
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. mate — a partner
  20. board — a committee
  21. degree — temperature
  22. pop — to visit
  23. net — for catching
  24. pop — soda

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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