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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: pitcher · trunk · face · mug · rule · land · nail · squash

  1. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. land — to come down
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. face — to confront
  5. face — to point toward
  6. rule — government
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. face — part of the head
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. squash — to crush
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. land — ground
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. mug — a face
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. squash — the sport
  21. land — a country
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. mug — to rob
  24. rule — a law

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