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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. field — for sport
  4. degree — temperature
  5. bat — the animal
  6. degree — from a university
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. board — a committee
  10. craft — a skill
  11. game — a match
  12. craft — boats
  13. row — a line
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. game — wild animals
  16. board — to get on
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. field — farmland
  19. field — a subject
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. degree — an amount
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. dip — to sink

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