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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 · season · rule · fine · chair · tube · chest · kid

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. season — in sport
  8. chair — a leader
  9. fine — all right
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — of your body
  12. fine — high quality
  13. kid — child
  14. tube — the underground
  15. rule — government
  16. chest — a box
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. season — of the year
  20. kid — to tease
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. rule — a law
  23. tube — a container
  24. rule — to rule out

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