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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. rule — a law
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. row — a line
  6. bound — tied together
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. staff — a stick
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. bound — certain
  11. staff — employees
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. bound — obliged
  14. rule — government
  15. row — to paddle
  16. staff — employees
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. deal — to handle

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