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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 116 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 · field · patient · trunk · chair · bore · ground · degree

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  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 — a flat piece
  2. chair — a leader
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. board — to get on
  5. board — a committee
  6. ground — a position
  7. degree — temperature
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. bore — to drill
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. field — a subject
  14. ground — crushed
  15. ground — the earth
  16. field — for sport
  17. degree — an amount
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. bore — to tire
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. field — farmland
  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