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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: rule · dip · wax · trunk · season · tear · root · cell

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. rule — government
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. tear — to rip
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. cell — in biology
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. dip — to sink
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. season — in sport
  13. tear — from crying
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. wax — to grow
  16. season — of the year
  17. root — of a plant
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. root — of a word
  22. cell — a phone
  23. root — the cause
  24. tear — from crying

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