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

Word bank: bear · wind · trunk · cell · chair · season

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. bear — the animal
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. cell — a phone
  8. wind — moving air
  9. season — in sport
  10. cell — in biology
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bear — the animal
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. season — of the year
  18. bear — to put up with

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