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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: staff · board · plane · cold · trunk · bat · lean · squash

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. board — a committee
  6. lean — thin
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. cold — an illness
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. lean — to bend
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. staff — employees
  16. board — to get on
  17. squash — the sport
  18. staff — employees
  19. staff — a stick
  20. squash — to crush
  21. cold — not warm
  22. plane — a tool
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. plane — in geometry

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