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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 have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. board — to get on
  3. spell — letters
  4. board — a committee
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. degree — temperature
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. spell — magic
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. lean — to bend
  12. degree — an amount
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. bat — the animal
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. game — wild animals
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. degree — from a university
  20. game — a match
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. spell — a short time
  23. lean — thin
  24. bat — in an idiom

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