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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: fan · board · wind · press · ball · trunk · bulb · land

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  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. press — to push
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. bulb — for light
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. land — a country
  8. press — newspapers
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. bulb — for light
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. press — a publisher
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. wind — moving air
  16. ball — a dance
  17. land — ground
  18. wind — moving air
  19. land — to come down
  20. board — to get on
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. ball — a great 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