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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. file — a line of people
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. rule — a law
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. sharp — clever
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. branch — a division
  12. tube — a container
  13. tube — the underground
  14. file — a tool
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. file — a document
  18. branch — 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