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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: toast · rule · swing · present · trunk · mine · bat · game

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. swing — in golf
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. present — the time now
  9. game — a match
  10. present — a gift
  11. mine — for digging
  12. rule — government
  13. swing — to play on
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. rule — a law
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. toast — bread
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. present — there
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. game — wild animals
  24. swing — music

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