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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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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: trunk · wound · stand · present · chair · march · bat · chip

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. chip — to eat
  3. present — a gift
  4. chair — a leader
  5. bat — the animal
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. chip — for betting
  10. march — the month
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. stand — to bear
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. present — the time now
  16. present — there
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. wound — an injury
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. march — music
  22. march — the month
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. trunk — of a tree

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