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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: prune · rule · content · chair · mouse · trunk · drill · kick

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. content — happy
  3. drill — army training
  4. content — the amount
  5. rule — a law
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. drill — the tool
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. kick — in football
  12. prune — to trim
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. rule — government
  20. prune — to trim
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. drill — a practice
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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