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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: rule · chip · straw · band · trunk · kick · wind · shower

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. shower — to wash
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. band — a ring
  11. chip — for betting
  12. wind — moving air
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. band — a music group
  15. chip — to eat
  16. kick — in football
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. shower — rain
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. rule — a law
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. wind — moving air
  24. rule — government

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