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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 120 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: lash · wind · wake · board · face · coach · degree · present

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. 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. coach — pulled by horses
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. degree — from a university
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. board — a committee
  6. degree — an amount
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. wake — a trail
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. wind — moving air
  14. face — to confront
  15. degree — temperature
  16. face — to point toward
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. present — there
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. present — a gift
  22. present — the time now
  23. face — part of the head
  24. 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