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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: rash · calf · land · cold · mug · bowl · rule · trunk

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. land — to come down
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. rash — a series
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. mug — to rob
  9. mug — a face
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. land — ground
  13. cold — an illness
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. cold — not warm
  16. mug — a cup
  17. rule — government
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. rule — a law
  22. land — a country
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. calf — of the leg

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