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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: board · trunk · degree · kid · chair · plane · key · straw

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. degree — an amount
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. board — a committee
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. key — for a lock
  10. degree — temperature
  11. degree — from a university
  12. plane — a tool
  13. chair — a leader
  14. kid — to tease
  15. key — in music
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. kid — child
  20. key — the most important part
  21. board — to get on
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. chair — to sit 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