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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: bowl · racket · key · rule · cell · season · degree · board

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. key — the most important part
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. cell — in biology
  5. cell — a phone
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. degree — from a university
  8. board — to get on
  9. season — in sport
  10. rule — a law
  11. board — a committee
  12. rule — government
  13. key — for a lock
  14. key — in music
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. season — of the year
  17. degree — an amount
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. degree — temperature
  24. racket — for tennis

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