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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: trunk · foot · chest · rule · wind · fall

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. wind — moving air
  3. foot — a measure
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. chest — a box
  8. chest — of your body
  9. fall — the season
  10. wind — moving air
  11. rule — a law
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. chest — of your body
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — to drop
  18. foot — part of the body

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