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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: wind · pop · chest · trunk · deal · lie · fork · rule

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. deal — to handle
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. chest — of your body
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. fork — in a road
  8. chest — of your body
  9. wind — moving air
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. chest — a box
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. pop — soda
  14. lie — to recline
  15. pop — music
  16. wind — moving air
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. rule — government
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. pop — to visit
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. rule — a law

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