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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: key · trunk · mine · rash · rule · chair · clip · mouse

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. rule — government
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. mine — for digging
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. rash — a series
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. key — in music
  10. key — the most important part
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. chair — a leader
  13. rule — a law
  14. clip — to cut
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. rash — hasty
  22. clip — a video
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. key — for a lock

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