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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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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 · degree · ruler · perch · face · board · wind · tube

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. face — to point toward
  4. board — a committee
  5. wind — moving air
  6. tube — the underground
  7. chair — a leader
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. degree — temperature
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. degree — from a university
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. wind — moving air
  15. perch — the fish
  16. board — to get on
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. face — part of the head
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. tube — a container
  23. face — to confront
  24. tube — in a tire

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