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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. rule — a law
  7. cell — in biology
  8. last — finally
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. fork — in a road
  11. snap — to click
  12. cell — a phone
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. date — the fruit
  17. last — final
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. tube — the underground
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. last — to go on
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. rule — government

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