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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. rule — government
  3. pit — in a race
  4. root — of a word
  5. cold — not warm
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. rule — a law
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. season — of the year
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. band — a music group
  14. band — a ring
  15. root — the cause
  16. tube — the underground
  17. bulb — for light
  18. season — in sport
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. root — of a plant
  21. cold — an illness
  22. pit — a hole
  23. bulb — for light
  24. season — to add flavour

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