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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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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 · rule · foot · wave · race · shower

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. rule — government
  4. race — humankind
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. shower — rain
  9. foot — a measure
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. race — a contest
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. shower — to wash
  17. race — the arms race
  18. trunk — of an elephant

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