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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 124 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. mine — for digging
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — an injury
  8. chair — a leader
  9. firm — a company
  10. stock — shares
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. board — a committee
  13. cap — a lid
  14. cap — of ice
  15. cap — a hat
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. board — to get on
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. firm — decided
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. stock — goods
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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