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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 120 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: rule · board · lean · clip · march · pitcher · swing · trunk

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. march — the month
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. lean — to bend
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. rule — a law
  8. board — a committee
  9. swing — to play on
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. march — music
  12. lean — thin
  13. clip — for paper
  14. march — the month
  15. board — to get on
  16. swing — music
  17. clip — a video
  18. rule — government
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. swing — in golf
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. clip — to cut
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. lean — to rest against

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