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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: roll · trunk · hand · rule · clip · cabinet · file · leaves

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. clip — for paper
  5. hand — help
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. hand — in cards
  11. roll — a list
  12. rule — government
  13. file — a line of people
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. rule — a law
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — to cut
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. file — a document
  22. file — a tool
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. roll — a cake

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