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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: board · chair · trunk · march · wave · content · hand · staff

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. content — happy
  3. march — music
  4. hand — help
  5. march — the month
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. board — a committee
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. hand — in cards
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. march — the month
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. board — to get on
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. staff — a stick
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. content — the amount
  20. staff — employees
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. staff — employees
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. chair — a professorship

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