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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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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 · spell · stem · cue · wound · kick · rule · nail

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. spell — magic
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. wound — an injury
  10. stem — to come from
  11. kick — in football
  12. cue — for pool
  13. spell — letters
  14. rule — a law
  15. wound — an injury
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. cue — a signal
  19. rule — government
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. spell — a short time
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. cue — a hint

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