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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. content — happy
  4. board — a committee
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. current — electric
  7. march — music
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. march — the month
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. current — of water
  14. march — the month
  15. degree — temperature
  16. content — the amount
  17. current — happening now
  18. chair — a leader
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. bulb — for light
  21. degree — from a university
  22. board — to get on
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bulb — of a plant

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