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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  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. rule — a law
  2. hand — help
  3. wind — moving air
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. net — after costs
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. mark — a grade
  10. mark — a trace
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. net — for catching
  13. race — the arms race
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. rule — government
  17. net — in sport
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. race — humankind
  20. race — a contest
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. hand — in cards
  23. ruler — a monarch
  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