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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. rule — a law
  4. chest — of your body
  5. craft — boats
  6. mug — to rob
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. chest — a box
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. race — humankind
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. chest — of your body
  15. mine — for digging
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. rule — government
  19. craft — a skill
  20. race — a contest
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. mug — a cup
  23. mug — a face
  24. race — the arms race

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