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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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Word bank
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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: trunk · press · game · rule · drill · wind

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — moving air
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. drill — army training
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. drill — a practice
  7. game — a match
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. press — newspapers
  11. drill — the tool
  12. game — wild animals
  13. press — to push
  14. press — a publisher
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. rule — a law
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. rule — government

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