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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: game · toast · staff · rule · arm · trunk · net · season

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. rule — government
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. net — after costs
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. net — for catching
  9. staff — employees
  10. rule — a law
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. toast — bread
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. game — a match
  16. game — wild animals
  17. season — in sport
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. net — in sport
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. season — of the year
  23. staff — a stick
  24. trunk — of a tree

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