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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 · trunk · staff · chest · pit · chair

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  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. chair — a leader
  2. staff — a stick
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. rule — a law
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. pit — a hole
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. staff — employees
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — of your body
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. staff — employees
  15. chest — a box
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. pit — in a race
  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