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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: wind · straw · firm · board · chair · degree

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. firm — a company
  4. firm — steady
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. degree — an amount
  11. degree — from a university
  12. chair — a leader
  13. firm — decided
  14. wind — moving air
  15. degree — temperature
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. board — a committee
  18. board — to get on

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