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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: kid · rule · fan · trunk · net · straw · tear · land

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. land — a country
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. land — to come down
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. net — for catching
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. tear — to rip
  13. net — in sport
  14. tear — from crying
  15. net — after costs
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. land — ground
  19. rule — government
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. tear — from crying
  22. kid — to tease
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. kid — child

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