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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: tear · rule · straw · hand · trunk · swing · charge · present

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. hand — help
  3. rule — a law
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. tear — from crying
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. present — there
  9. swing — music
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. swing — to play on
  12. charge — a price
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. present — the time now
  15. charge — electricity
  16. swing — in golf
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. tear — from crying
  19. rule — government
  20. tear — to rip
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. hand — in cards
  23. charge — in control
  24. present — a gift

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