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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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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: game · fine · spell · board · cap · deal · degree · spring

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. fine — all right
  3. spell — magic
  4. cap — a hat
  5. game — wild animals
  6. spring — the season
  7. spell — letters
  8. degree — temperature
  9. degree — from a university
  10. deal — to handle
  11. spring — a coil
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. fine — high quality
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. board — a committee
  18. game — a match
  19. spell — a short time
  20. spring — of water
  21. cap — a lid
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. degree — an amount
  24. cap — of ice

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