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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: mine · trunk · bear · rule · club · craft · chest · pitcher

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. club — a group
  3. craft — a skill
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. rule — a law
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. bear — the animal
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. chest — of your body
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. chest — a box
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. craft — boats
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. bear — the animal
  19. rule — government
  20. chest — of your body
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. club — for golf
  23. club — for dancing
  24. mine — belonging to me

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