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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. rule — a law
  3. season — in sport
  4. shower — rain
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. cap — a hat
  7. row — to paddle
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. cap — of ice
  10. rule — government
  11. spring — of water
  12. cap — a lid
  13. spring — the season
  14. chip — to eat
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. row — a line
  17. spring — a coil
  18. chip — for betting
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. season — of the year
  21. shower — to wash
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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