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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: lean · trunk · land · key · court · rule · leaves · cold

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. cold — not warm
  3. court — of a king
  4. lean — to bend
  5. key — for a lock
  6. rule — a law
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. cold — an illness
  10. land — ground
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. lean — thin
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. land — to come down
  15. rule — government
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. court — of law
  20. key — the most important part
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. key — in music
  23. court — for sport
  24. cold — the Cold War

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