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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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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: march · swing · chair · degree · board · file

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. march — the month
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. swing — in golf
  5. file — a document
  6. swing — to play on
  7. board — to get on
  8. board — a committee
  9. file — a line of people
  10. swing — music
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. march — the month
  13. chair — a leader
  14. march — music
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. degree — an amount
  17. file — a tool
  18. degree — from a university

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