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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: trunk · stand · cap · board · kid · spell · patient · chair

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  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. spell — magic
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. chair — a leader
  7. stand — to bear
  8. cap — a lid
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. kid — child
  11. board — to get on
  12. spell — letters
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. cap — a hat
  16. cap — of ice
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. kid — to tease
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. spell — a short time
  23. board — a committee
  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