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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: swing · trunk · bark · wind · race · rule

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. bark — to shout
  3. swing — in golf
  4. rule — government
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. wind — moving air
  7. rule — a law
  8. wind — moving air
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. race — a contest
  12. race — humankind
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. swing — music
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. race — the arms race
  18. bark — a dog's sound

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