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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — to trim
  4. file — a document
  5. rule — government
  6. rule — a law
  7. track — a song
  8. tube — a container
  9. track — a path
  10. net — for catching
  11. net — after costs
  12. net — in sport
  13. bore — to drill
  14. tube — the underground
  15. file — a line of people
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. lean — to bend
  19. bore — to tire
  20. lean — thin
  21. file — a tool
  22. track — to keep track
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. bore — gave birth

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