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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: sharp · wind · cap · trunk · degree · rule · board · bay

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. rule — a law
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. board — to get on
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. cap — of ice
  8. sharp — clever
  9. degree — from a university
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. cap — a hat
  12. degree — temperature
  13. cap — a lid
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. wind — moving air
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. rule — government
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. board — a committee
  24. wind — moving air

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