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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. net — in sport
  3. rule — government
  4. bear — the animal
  5. net — after costs
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. tube — a container
  8. tube — the underground
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. branch — a division
  11. ball — a dance
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. kid — child
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. rule — a law
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. ball — a great time
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. bear — the animal
  24. net — for catching

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