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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.

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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: race · snap · trunk · chest · rule · board · bat · bark

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. rule — government
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. race — a contest
  6. rule — a law
  7. chest — of your body
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. bark — to shout
  12. race — humankind
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bat — the animal
  17. board — to get on
  18. race — the arms race
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — a box
  24. snap — to click

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