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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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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: cell · mate · spring · degree · swing · content · bowl · board

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. swing — in golf
  3. cell — a phone
  4. swing — music
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — an amount
  7. mate — to breed
  8. cell — in biology
  9. swing — to play on
  10. spring — of water
  11. mate — a friend
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. degree — from a university
  14. spring — the season
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. content — the amount
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. board — a committee
  19. spring — a coil
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. mate — a partner
  23. content — happy
  24. board — a flat piece

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