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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. band — a ring
  3. chest — of your body
  4. rock — music
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. band — a music group
  8. cell — in biology
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. rule — government
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. mine — for digging
  13. rock — a stone
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. rule — a law
  17. cell — a phone
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. snap — to click
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. rock — to move gently

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