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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. rash — hasty
  9. rule — a law
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. sharp — clever
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. march — the month
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. rash — a series
  18. march — the month
  19. plane — a tool
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. march — music
  23. rule — government
  24. plane — in geometry

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