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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: bound · bear · shower · rule · chip · racket · trunk · court

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. chip — for betting
  3. court — for sport
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. bear — the animal
  8. court — of law
  9. bound — tied together
  10. chip — to eat
  11. shower — to wash
  12. bound — obliged
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. rule — a law
  18. shower — rain
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. bear — the animal
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. rule — government
  23. court — of a king
  24. bear — to put up with

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