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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: chest · wind · club · jam · bark · trunk · stand · board

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. bark — to shout
  5. chest — of your body
  6. board — a committee
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. wind — moving air
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. club — a group
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. wind — moving air
  17. chest — a box
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. board — to get on
  20. club — for golf
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. stand — to bear
  24. chest — of your body

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