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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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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: mate · fall · board · trunk · chest · chair · field · cabinet

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. fall — the season
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. mate — to breed
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. chest — of your body
  7. field — a subject
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. mate — a friend
  10. field — farmland
  11. board — to get on
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. fall — to drop
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. board — a committee
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. chest — a box
  20. chest — of your body
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. fall — to drop
  23. mate — a partner
  24. field — for sport

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