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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.

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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: suit · current · degree · face · chair · net · pitcher · saw

  1. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. suit — clothes
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. suit — to fit
  5. face — to confront
  6. net — after costs
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. degree — from a university
  10. face — to point toward
  11. net — for catching
  12. current — electric
  13. degree — an amount
  14. current — of water
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. saw — the tool
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. saw — the tool
  19. net — in sport
  20. chair — a leader
  21. face — part of the head
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. degree — temperature
  24. current — happening now

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