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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. mate — a friend
  5. hand — help
  6. capital — a city
  7. rule — government
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. capital — money
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. mate — to breed
  13. sharp — clever
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. hand — in cards
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. row — a line
  18. rule — a law
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. mate — a partner
  21. row — to paddle
  22. band — a ring
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. band — a music group

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