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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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. rule — government
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. row — to paddle
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. rule — a law
  10. row — a line
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. tube — a container
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. tear — from crying
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. tear — to rip
  20. wound — an injury
  21. tube — the underground
  22. tear — from crying
  23. wound — an injury
  24. nail — for a hammer

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