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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 116 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: dip · chair · rule · game · tear · field · cap · trunk

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. rule — government
  4. tear — from crying
  5. dip — to sink
  6. cap — a lid
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. chair — a leader
  9. cap — of ice
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. field — a subject
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. rule — a law
  15. field — farmland
  16. game — a match
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. tear — from crying
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. tear — to rip
  22. cap — a hat
  23. field — for sport
  24. trunk — of a tree

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