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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 · rule · bulb · plane · row · band

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. rule — government
  7. row — a line
  8. bulb — for light
  9. rule — a law
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. row — to paddle
  12. plane — a tool
  13. bulb — for light
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. band — a ring
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. bulb — of a plant
  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