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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: pitcher · press · chair · board · fork · wind · degree · game

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. 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. board — to get on
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. board — a committee
  6. game — a match
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. fork — in a road
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. game — wild animals
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. wind — moving air
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. chair — a leader
  17. press — to push
  18. degree — an amount
  19. press — newspapers
  20. wind — moving air
  21. press — a publisher
  22. degree — temperature
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. 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