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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 116 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: racket · trunk · march · rule · swing · clip

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. swing — to play on
  4. swing — in golf
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. swing — music
  8. march — the month
  9. clip — a video
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. clip — to cut
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. march — the month
  15. rule — a law
  16. rule — government
  17. march — music
  18. clip — for paper

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