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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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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. tube — a container
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. mine — for digging
  5. file — a document
  6. tube — the underground
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. scale — in music
  9. rule — government
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. file — a tool
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. wind — moving air
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. tear — from crying
  18. file — a line of people
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — to rip
  21. scale — size or range
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. rule — a law
  24. tube — in a tire

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