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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: cell · rule · trunk · band · chest · snap

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. chest — a box
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. cell — in biology
  6. band — a music group
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. cell — a phone
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. chest — of your body
  13. rule — government
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. band — a ring
  16. rule — a law
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. chest — of your body

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