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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. chair — a leader
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. current — happening now
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. current — electric
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. drill — a practice
  10. kid — to tease
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. degree — temperature
  16. drill — the tool
  17. foot — a measure
  18. kid — child
  19. board — to get on
  20. drill — army training
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. degree — an amount
  23. degree — from a university
  24. current — of water

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