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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 cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. bank — for money
  4. march — the month
  5. bank — of a river
  6. rule — a law
  7. wind — moving air
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. tube — the underground
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. wind — moving air
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. march — the month
  17. rule — government
  18. bank — for money
  19. march — music
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a document
  22. file — a line of people
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. tube — a container

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