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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. object — an aim
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. row — a line
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. object — to protest
  8. degree — temperature
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. fine — all right
  12. object — a thing
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. plane — a tool
  15. pitch — completely
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. fine — high quality
  20. degree — an amount
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. board — to get on
  23. degree — from a university
  24. row — to paddle

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