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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: chest · object · bulb · band · chair · board · game · roll

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. bulb — for light
  5. game — a match
  6. chest — of your body
  7. board — to get on
  8. band — a music group
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. object — a thing
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. bulb — for light
  14. object — an aim
  15. band — a ring
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. game — wild animals
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. object — to protest
  21. board — a committee
  22. roll — a list
  23. roll — a cake
  24. chest — a box

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