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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: pitcher · chest · rock · chair · calf · degree · nail · wind

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. wind — moving air
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. degree — from a university
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — temperature
  11. rock — a stone
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. chest — of your body
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. wind — moving air
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. rock — music
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — a box

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