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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. tube — the underground
  8. cold — not warm
  9. mark — a trace
  10. rule — a law
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. wake — a trail
  13. chair — a leader
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. tube — a container
  16. can — a tin
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. can — to be able to
  19. mark — a grade
  20. cold — an illness
  21. can — a tin
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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