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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: game · bat · board · wave · degree · march · dip · prune

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. dip — to sink
  7. prune — to trim
  8. march — music
  9. game — a match
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. march — the month
  13. degree — temperature
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. board — to get on
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. board — a committee
  18. march — the month
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. prune — to trim
  21. game — wild animals
  22. degree — from a university
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. degree — an amount

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