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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. cell — a phone
  3. rule — a law
  4. rule — government
  5. swing — music
  6. swing — in golf
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. game — wild animals
  10. game — a match
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. file — a line of people
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. band — a music group
  15. cell — in biology
  16. file — a document
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. band — a ring
  19. swing — to play on
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. branch — a division
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. file — a tool

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