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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 116 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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. march — the month
  3. pit — a hole
  4. degree — an amount
  5. press — to push
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. press — a publisher
  8. hand — in cards
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. pit — in a race
  12. press — newspapers
  13. degree — from a university
  14. march — music
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — from crying
  17. last — to go on
  18. board — a committee
  19. march — the month
  20. tear — to rip
  21. last — final
  22. degree — temperature
  23. hand — help
  24. last — finally

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