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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: snap · bat · shower · trunk · tube · rule · squash · chip

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. shower — to wash
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. chip — for betting
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. tube — a container
  10. chip — to eat
  11. squash — the sport
  12. snap — to click
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. tube — the underground
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. squash — to crush
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. shower — rain
  21. rule — government
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. rule — a law

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