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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. squash — the sport
  5. roll — a list
  6. squash — to crush
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. prune — to trim
  10. kid — to tease
  11. degree — an amount
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. degree — from a university
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. kid — child
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. degree — temperature
  18. branch — a division
  19. prune — to trim
  20. roll — a cake
  21. board — to get on
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. branch — of a bank

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