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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. tube — the underground
  4. court — of a king
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. degree — temperature
  7. board — to get on
  8. court — of law
  9. mate — a partner
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. prune — to trim
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. degree — an amount
  17. date — the fruit
  18. degree — from a university
  19. tube — a container
  20. prune — to trim
  21. mate — a friend
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. mate — to breed
  24. court — for sport

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