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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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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: bore · board · band · chair · lean · straw · race · degree

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. lean — to bend
  3. race — the arms race
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. bore — to drill
  6. bore — to tire
  7. band — a ring
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. degree — an amount
  11. board — to get on
  12. band — a music group
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. lean — thin
  15. board — a committee
  16. chair — a leader
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. race — humankind
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. degree — from a university
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. degree — temperature
  24. race — a contest

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