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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 120 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 ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. rule — government
  3. file — a line of people
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. file — a tool
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. chest — of your body
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. band — a music group
  10. content — the amount
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. bass — low music
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. file — a document
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bass — the fish
  19. band — a ring
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. chest — a box
  22. rule — a law
  23. content — happy
  24. band — a rubber band

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