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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: wound · rule · chair · roll · snap · bulb · march · trunk

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. march — the month
  5. roll — a list
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. bulb — for light
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. chair — a leader
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. wound — an injury
  15. march — music
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wound — an injury
  20. march — the month
  21. snap — to click
  22. rule — a law
  23. rule — government
  24. bulb — for light

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