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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: trunk · march · fall · rule · row · rest · current · plane

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. march — the month
  3. march — the month
  4. row — to paddle
  5. fall — to drop
  6. plane — a tool
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. current — electric
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. row — a line
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rule — government
  15. rest — what's left
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. march — music
  19. rest — a break
  20. current — happening now
  21. fall — the season
  22. rule — a law
  23. fall — to drop
  24. current — of water

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