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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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. march — the month
  4. rule — government
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. prune — to trim
  7. object — to protest
  8. season — in sport
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. season — of the year
  13. prune — to trim
  14. march — music
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. squash — the sport
  17. object — a thing
  18. chest — of your body
  19. march — the month
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. object — an aim
  22. squash — to crush
  23. chest — a box
  24. chest — of your body

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