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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 seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. tube — the underground
  3. mark — a grade
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. rule — a law
  6. rest — a break
  7. game — a match
  8. net — after costs
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. net — in sport
  11. net — for catching
  12. tube — a container
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. mark — a trace
  16. rule — government
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. rash — a series
  19. game — wild animals
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rash — hasty
  22. scale — size or range
  23. scale — in music
  24. rest — what's left

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