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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: coach · degree · board · wound · ground · cap · current · chair

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. cap — a lid
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. chair — a leader
  5. board — to get on
  6. cap — of ice
  7. ground — crushed
  8. ground — the earth
  9. degree — from a university
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. current — electric
  12. wound — an injury
  13. degree — temperature
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. wound — an injury
  16. board — a committee
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. cap — a hat
  19. ground — a position
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. current — of water
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. current — happening now
  24. degree — an amount

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