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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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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: cap · board · shower · ground · bat · pass · degree · can

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. pass — a permit
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. cap — a hat
  5. ground — crushed
  6. ground — the earth
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — from a university
  9. can — to be able to
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. degree — an amount
  13. can — a tin
  14. bat — the animal
  15. can — a tin
  16. cap — a lid
  17. cap — of ice
  18. shower — to wash
  19. board — to get on
  20. ground — a position
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. shower — rain
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. bat — for baseball

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