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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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Word bank
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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 · face · racket · mine · rule · hand · vault · band

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. rule — government
  3. band — a music group
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. face — part of the head
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. mine — for digging
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. hand — help
  12. rule — a law
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — in cards
  20. face — to confront
  21. band — a ring
  22. vault — a safe
  23. face — to point toward
  24. band — a rubber band

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