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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. last — final
  4. rule — a law
  5. hand — help
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. rule — government
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. bulb — for light
  11. net — in sport
  12. rash — hasty
  13. net — after costs
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. bulb — for light
  18. net — for catching
  19. last — finally
  20. hand — in cards
  21. last — to go on
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — moving air

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