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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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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: cell · trunk · march · rule · bay · file · bat · rush

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. rule — government
  8. file — a line of people
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. cell — a phone
  13. cell — in biology
  14. rush — hurry
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. rule — a law
  17. march — the month
  18. file — a document
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. march — the month
  22. file — a tool
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. march — music

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