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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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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 · trunk · pit · bass · kick · stand · band · last

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  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. kick — a thrill
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. bass — low music
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. band — a ring
  7. rule — government
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. kick — in football
  11. last — final
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. bass — the fish
  14. stand — to bear
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. last — to go on
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. band — a music group
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. pit — in a race
  22. last — finally
  23. pit — a hole
  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