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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: chair · bank · vault · shower · content · trunk · rule · cell

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. cell — a phone
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. shower — to wash
  5. rule — a law
  6. chair — a leader
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. bank — of a river
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. bank — for money
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. bank — for money
  17. shower — rain
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. content — the amount
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. content — happy
  22. cell — in biology
  23. vault — a safe
  24. content — videos and posts

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