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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. mine — for digging
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. game — a match
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. rule — government
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bore — to drill
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. stem — to come from
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. band — a music group
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. wind — moving air
  21. band — a ring
  22. bore — to tire
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. game — wild animals

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