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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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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: cold · trunk · ruler · kick · mine · mouse · drill · branch

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. kick — in football
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. drill — a practice
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. branch — a division
  12. drill — army training
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. drill — the tool
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — an illness
  22. mine — for digging
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. mouse — the animal

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