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

Word bank: squash · rule · cap · trunk · present · fork

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  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. squash — the sport
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. present — the time now
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. squash — to crush
  8. fork — in a road
  9. rule — a law
  10. present — a gift
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. cap — a hat
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. cap — a lid
  15. cap — of ice
  16. present — there
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  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