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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: rule · mine · band · kick · trunk · mate · shower · dip

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. band — a music group
  4. mate — a partner
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. rule — a law
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. mate — to breed
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. shower — to wash
  16. mine — for digging
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. rule — government
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. kick — in football
  22. band — a ring
  23. shower — rain
  24. dip — to sink

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