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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: march · racket · degree · spell · clip · game · board · object

  1. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. board — to get on
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. clip — to cut
  6. spell — a short time
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. game — wild animals
  9. clip — for paper
  10. degree — temperature
  11. degree — an amount
  12. march — music
  13. clip — a video
  14. board — a committee
  15. object — to protest
  16. game — a match
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. degree — from a university
  20. march — the month
  21. spell — letters
  22. object — an aim
  23. march — the month
  24. spell — magic

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