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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.

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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: wound · object · stand · chair · land · bulb · hand · board

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. board — to get on
  4. land — a country
  5. land — ground
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. bulb — for light
  8. wound — an injury
  9. object — to protest
  10. hand — help
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. chair — a leader
  14. wound — an injury
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. board — a committee
  17. object — an aim
  18. hand — in cards
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. land — to come down
  21. stand — to bear
  22. object — a thing
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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