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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: band · cell · track · rest · trunk · rule · bear · snap

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. snap — to click
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. track — a song
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. cell — a phone
  8. rest — a break
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. rest — what's left
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. bear — the animal
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. cell — in biology
  15. band — a ring
  16. rule — a law
  17. bear — the animal
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. rule — government
  20. track — to keep track
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. rest — what's left
  24. band — a music group

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