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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: trunk · rule · bass · cold · calf · snap · hand · present

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. present — a gift
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. hand — in cards
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. snap — to click
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. bass — the fish
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. present — the time now
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. present — there
  18. rule — a law
  19. bass — low music
  20. hand — help
  21. rule — government
  22. cold — an illness
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. cold — not warm

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