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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. board — a committee
  3. degree — an amount
  4. dip — to sink
  5. bat — the animal
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. degree — from a university
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. ground — crushed
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. ground — the earth
  14. degree — temperature
  15. ground — a position
  16. chair — a leader
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. wax — to grow
  19. board — to get on
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. bat — for baseball

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