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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: degree · chair · shower · land · roll · current · fine · pitch

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. current — electric
  3. degree — an amount
  4. land — to come down
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. degree — temperature
  7. land — a country
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. roll — a cake
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. fine — all right
  13. fine — high quality
  14. roll — a list
  15. shower — rain
  16. current — of water
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. degree — from a university
  19. current — happening now
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. shower — to wash
  22. pitch — completely
  23. land — ground
  24. fine — a penalty

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