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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: rule · tear · court · wind · deal · trunk

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. deal — to handle
  4. tear — to rip
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. rule — government
  7. court — for sport
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — from crying
  13. court — of law
  14. court — of a king
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. trunk — of a car

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