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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: chair · mug · degree · board · bat · branch · snap · bulb

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. chair — a leader
  3. board — a committee
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — from a university
  6. bulb — for light
  7. degree — an amount
  8. mug — to rob
  9. board — to get on
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. bat — the animal
  15. mug — a cup
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. snap — to click
  18. branch — a division
  19. mug — a face
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. branch — of a bank

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