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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. saw — the tool
  3. prune — to trim
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. tube — a container
  7. dip — to sink
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. drill — the tool
  10. bulb — for light
  11. rule — a law
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. tube — the underground
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. bulb — for light
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. saw — the tool
  18. drill — a practice
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. prune — to trim
  21. rule — government
  22. kid — child
  23. drill — army training
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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