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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 116 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: hand · board · trunk · chip · rule · race · pound · game

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. game — a match
  3. hand — help
  4. board — to get on
  5. rule — a law
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. game — wild animals
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. race — a contest
  12. chip — to eat
  13. hand — in cards
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. race — the arms race
  18. race — humankind
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. pound — a weight
  21. chip — for betting
  22. board — a committee
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. rule — government

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