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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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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'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. cell — in biology
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. cell — a phone
  8. wound — an injury
  9. tear — from crying
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. capital — money
  13. board — to get on
  14. bass — the fish
  15. tear — to rip
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. capital — a city
  21. tear — from crying
  22. wound — an injury
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. bass — low music

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