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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. prune — to trim
  8. rash — a series
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pound — a weight
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. rash — hasty
  13. tube — the underground
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. rule — a law
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. rule — government
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. prune — to trim
  24. bat — the animal

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