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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: hand · straw · spell · charge · trunk · arm · rule · stock

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. charge — electricity
  4. rule — a law
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. rule — government
  8. spell — a short time
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. spell — magic
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. stock — goods
  14. hand — help
  15. hand — in cards
  16. stock — shares
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. charge — a price
  21. charge — in control
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. spell — letters

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