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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 116 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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. file — a line of people
  3. rule — government
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. bank — for money
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. board — a committee
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. root — of a word
  11. rule — a law
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. file — a tool
  17. root — of a plant
  18. bank — of a river
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. file — a document
  21. root — the cause
  22. bank — for money
  23. board — to get on
  24. patient — a sick person

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