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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 120 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: hand · swing · lash · trunk · mate · last · rule · pit

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. rule — government
  3. last — finally
  4. pit — a hole
  5. swing — to play on
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. hand — in cards
  8. mate — to breed
  9. swing — in golf
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. hand — help
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. swing — music
  14. mate — a partner
  15. pit — in a race
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. last — final
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. last — to go on
  20. mate — a friend
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. rule — a law
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. rule — to rule out

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