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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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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: chair · bore · trunk · rule · nail · bark · cue · cell

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. cue — a hint
  10. cue — a signal
  11. chair — a leader
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. cell — a phone
  14. bore — to tire
  15. rule — a law
  16. bore — to drill
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. cue — for pool
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. rule — government
  24. cell — in biology

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