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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: current · rule · prune · chest · hand · track · trunk · rash

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  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. rash — on the skin
  3. rash — hasty
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. current — electric
  7. track — a song
  8. chest — of your body
  9. hand — help
  10. rule — government
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. prune — to trim
  13. hand — in cards
  14. current — happening now
  15. rash — a series
  16. current — of water
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. track — a path
  19. track — to keep track
  20. prune — to trim
  21. chest — of your body
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. chest — a box
  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