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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: trunk · mine · rest · press · rule · rash · season · wound

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — an injury
  5. mine — for digging
  6. rash — a series
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. season — in sport
  10. press — a publisher
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. rest — what's left
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. rule — a law
  19. rash — hasty
  20. press — newspapers
  21. rest — a break
  22. rule — government
  23. season — of the year
  24. press — to push

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