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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 116 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: rash · wound · trunk · cell · press · rule · cold · object

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. object — an aim
  3. object — a thing
  4. cold — not warm
  5. press — a publisher
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. object — to protest
  8. rash — a series
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. rash — hasty
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. rule — government
  13. press — newspapers
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. rule — a law
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. wound — an injury
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. press — to push
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. wound — an injury
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cell — in biology
  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