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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. game — a match
  4. craft — boats
  5. rule — a law
  6. tube — the underground
  7. file — a tool
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. file — a document
  10. rule — government
  11. scale — size or range
  12. scale — in music
  13. craft — a skill
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. tube — a container
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. wake — a trail
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. file — a line of people
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. ruler — for measuring

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