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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: cold · date · fan · bay · trunk · calf · content · rule

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. rule — a law
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. content — the amount
  6. cold — an illness
  7. rule — government
  8. date — the fruit
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. cold — not warm
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. content — happy

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