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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 · chair · ground · cell · band · cue · rule · deal

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. ground — crushed
  5. ground — the earth
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. cell — a phone
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. cue — a signal
  12. cue — a hint
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. ground — a position
  15. rule — government
  16. deal — to handle
  17. cell — in biology
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. band — a music group
  20. cue — for pool
  21. chair — a leader
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. band — a ring
  24. rule — a law

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