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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: bound · game · lean · pitch · mark · capital · board · degree

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. bound — certain
  4. lean — thin
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. degree — an amount
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. lean — to bend
  10. mark — a grade
  11. bound — obliged
  12. bound — tied together
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. board — a committee
  16. capital — money
  17. board — to get on
  18. degree — temperature
  19. mark — a trace
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. pitch — completely
  22. degree — from a university
  23. capital — a city
  24. game — a match

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