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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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. bulb — for light
  4. wind — moving air
  5. hand — in cards
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. board — to get on
  9. degree — temperature
  10. degree — an amount
  11. bulb — for light
  12. wax — to grow
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. tube — the underground
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. hand — help
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. wind — moving air
  20. tube — a container
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. degree — from a university
  24. arm — a part of something

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