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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: chair · ground · rush · trunk · toast · rule · season · clip

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. season — in sport
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. toast — bread
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. season — of the year
  7. ground — a position
  8. ground — crushed
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. ground — the earth
  12. clip — for paper
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. rush — hurry
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. rule — government
  20. chair — a leader
  21. clip — a video
  22. rule — a law
  23. clip — to cut
  24. season — to add flavour

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