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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 thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. clip — for paper
  4. ground — the earth
  5. degree — an amount
  6. ground — crushed
  7. wake — a trail
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. board — a committee
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. degree — temperature
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. degree — from a university
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. board — to get on
  18. clip — a video
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. ground — a position
  21. game — wild animals
  22. clip — to cut
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. game — a match

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