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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: land · wake · trunk · charge · season · board · kid · straw

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. kid — to tease
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. charge — a price
  7. kid — child
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. charge — in control
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. board — a committee
  13. land — ground
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. wake — a trail
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. land — a country
  19. season — of the year
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. charge — electricity
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. board — to get on
  24. land — to come down

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