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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 120 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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. fine — all right
  3. spring — the season
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. bat — the animal
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. fine — high quality
  10. tube — a container
  11. band — a ring
  12. tube — the underground
  13. chip — for betting
  14. saw — the tool
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. spring — a coil
  17. rule — a law
  18. spring — of water
  19. chip — to eat
  20. saw — the tool
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. rule — government
  24. band — a music group

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