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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: trunk · last · rule · club · leaves · shower · face · kick

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. shower — rain
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. last — to go on
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. club — a group
  8. face — to confront
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. rule — a law
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. last — finally
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. club — for dancing
  16. shower — to wash
  17. face — to point toward
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. face — part of the head
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. club — for golf
  23. last — final
  24. rule — government

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