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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: rush · chair · roll · file · race · trunk · club · rule

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  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. rule — government
  2. rush — hurry
  3. race — humankind
  4. file — a document
  5. race — a contest
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. club — a group
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. club — for dancing
  12. club — for golf
  13. chair — a leader
  14. file — a line of people
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. file — a tool
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. race — the arms race
  21. roll — a list
  22. roll — a cake
  23. trunk — of a car
  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