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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: cell · rule · capital · trunk · bore · toast

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. rule — a law
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. bore — to tire
  6. rule — government
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. cell — a phone
  12. toast — bread
  13. bore — to drill
  14. capital — a city
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cell — in a prison

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