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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: track · degree · row · board · lean · march · game · chair

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. march — the month
  3. track — to keep track
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. degree — temperature
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. track — a song
  8. row — a line
  9. lean — to bend
  10. row — to paddle
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. board — to get on
  14. board — a committee
  15. track — a path
  16. degree — an amount
  17. march — the month
  18. game — a match
  19. chair — a leader
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. game — wild animals
  22. march — music
  23. degree — from a university
  24. board — a flat piece

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