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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. rule — a law
  3. wind — moving air
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. bulb — for light
  7. file — a document
  8. wind — moving air
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. bore — to drill
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. spring — a coil
  15. tube — a container
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. file — a tool
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. tube — the underground
  20. bore — to tire
  21. bulb — for light
  22. spring — of water
  23. file — a line of people
  24. spring — the season

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