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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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. land — to come down
  4. rule — government
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. kid — to tease
  8. rule — a law
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. saw — the tool
  12. kid — child
  13. land — a country
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. land — ground
  18. saw — the tool
  19. tube — the underground
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. tube — a container
  23. fork — in a road
  24. temple — side of the head

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