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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: net · rule · board · rest · chair · trunk · wound · tear

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. board — a committee
  3. board — to get on
  4. rule — government
  5. rule — a law
  6. net — after costs
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. rest — what's left
  9. wound — an injury
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — from crying
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. tear — to rip
  14. chair — a leader
  15. net — for catching
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. net — in sport
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. wound — an injury
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. rest — a break
  23. rest — what's left
  24. chair — to sit on

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