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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. rest — what's left
  3. club — for golf
  4. wound — an injury
  5. net — for catching
  6. rule — government
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. rule — a law
  9. club — a group
  10. net — in sport
  11. saw — the tool
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. wound — an injury
  14. rest — what's left
  15. net — after costs
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. rest — a break
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. saw — the tool
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. club — for dancing

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