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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 120 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: board · degree · chair · saw · face · fine · bass · court

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  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. chair — a professorship
  2. bass — low music
  3. board — to get on
  4. face — to point toward
  5. fine — all right
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. court — of law
  8. bass — the fish
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. board — a committee
  11. degree — temperature
  12. chair — a leader
  13. face — part of the head
  14. fine — high quality
  15. saw — the tool
  16. court — of a king
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. degree — an amount
  19. degree — from a university
  20. court — for sport
  21. face — to confront
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. saw — the tool
  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