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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: swing · cold · bound · spell · degree · board · nail · bank

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. bank — for money
  3. spell — letters
  4. bound — obliged
  5. degree — temperature
  6. bank — of a river
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. spell — a short time
  10. degree — from a university
  11. degree — an amount
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. swing — in golf
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. spell — magic
  16. bound — certain
  17. bound — tied together
  18. board — to get on
  19. cold — not warm
  20. swing — to play on
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. cold — an illness
  23. bank — for money
  24. swing — music

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