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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: trunk · track · rest · key · kick · rash · fork · rule

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. key — in music
  4. key — the most important part
  5. key — for a lock
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. rest — a break
  9. track — a song
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. track — to keep track
  12. kick — in football
  13. rest — what's left
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. rash — a series
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rule — a law
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. rule — government
  22. fork — in a road
  23. track — a path
  24. fork — to eat with

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