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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: rule · safe · lie · board · degree · game · pitcher · field

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. rule — government
  3. degree — from a university
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. game — wild animals
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. lie — to recline
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. rule — a law
  12. field — a subject
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. board — a committee
  15. board — to get on
  16. degree — temperature
  17. game — a match
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. field — for sport
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. field — farmland
  23. degree — an amount
  24. rule — to rule out

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