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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: fall · court · current · trunk · vault · root · rule · straw

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. vault — a safe
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. fall — to drop
  5. root — of a word
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. fall — to drop
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. current — electric
  11. court — of law
  12. court — of a king
  13. court — for sport
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. root — of a plant
  19. root — the cause
  20. fall — the season
  21. current — happening now
  22. current — of water
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. rule — a law

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