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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: board · bound · land · bulb · wound · kid · trunk · present

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. kid — to tease
  3. wound — an injury
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. board — a committee
  6. board — to get on
  7. bound — tied together
  8. land — ground
  9. present — a gift
  10. kid — child
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. land — a country
  14. land — to come down
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bound — certain
  17. present — the time now
  18. bulb — for light
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. present — there
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. bound — obliged
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. wound — an injury

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