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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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. court — of a king
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. file — a line of people
  6. court — of law
  7. court — for sport
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. rule — government
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. cold — not warm
  13. squash — to crush
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. cold — an illness
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. tube — a container
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a document
  22. rule — a law
  23. lie — to recline
  24. squash — the sport

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