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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: face · wind · drill · degree · chair · bowl

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. face — to confront
  3. wind — moving air
  4. chair — a leader
  5. degree — an amount
  6. drill — a practice
  7. face — part of the head
  8. face — to point toward
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. drill — army training
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. degree — temperature
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. degree — from a university
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. drill — the tool
  18. chair — a professorship

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