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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: toast · kid · chip · trunk · rule · tear

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. tear — from crying
  3. rule — a law
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. kid — child
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. kid — to tease
  9. rule — government
  10. chip — to eat
  11. chip — for betting
  12. tear — to rip
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. tear — from crying
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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