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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 · bay · arm · hand · fall · trunk · kid · stick

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. kid — child
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. hand — help
  8. kid — to tease
  9. fall — the season
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. hand — in cards
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. fall — to drop
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. rule — government
  22. fall — to drop
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. arm — part of the 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