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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: court · rule · fall · trunk · rash · wind · jam · field

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. rash — a series
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. wind — moving air
  7. fall — to drop
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. field — for sport
  10. court — of law
  11. field — farmland
  12. court — for sport
  13. fall — the season
  14. fall — to drop
  15. rule — a law
  16. rule — government
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. wind — moving air
  20. rash — hasty
  21. court — of a king
  22. field — a subject
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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