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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 120 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: kick · trunk · shower · cold · chair · pit · craft · rule

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. pit — a hole
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. rule — a law
  7. kick — in football
  8. cold — an illness
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. craft — a skill
  13. shower — to wash
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. pit — in a race
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. chair — a leader
  18. cold — not warm
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. shower — rain
  21. craft — boats
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. rule — government
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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