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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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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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. cold — an illness
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. cold — not warm
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. rule — government
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. chip — for betting
  14. chip — to eat
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. ball — a dance
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. rule — a law

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