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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 need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. fall — to drop
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. fall — the season
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. scale — in music
  9. rash — a series
  10. wind — moving air
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. rule — a law
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. fall — to drop
  15. wind — moving air
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. scale — size or range
  19. rash — hasty
  20. tube — a container
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. tube — the underground
  23. rule — government
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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