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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 116 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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. chip — to eat
  3. rule — a law
  4. rule — government
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. prune — to trim
  7. hand — help
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. prune — to trim
  10. branch — a division
  11. tube — the underground
  12. drill — the tool
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. charge — electricity
  15. charge — a price
  16. drill — army training
  17. hand — in cards
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. drill — a practice
  21. chip — for betting
  22. tube — a container
  23. charge — in control
  24. hand — part of the body

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