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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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. rule — government
  3. spring — a coil
  4. rest — a break
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. bound — obliged
  7. spring — the season
  8. wind — moving air
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. rest — what's left
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. spring — of water
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. bound — tied together
  16. tube — a container
  17. pitch — completely
  18. bound — certain
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. rule — a law
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. wind — moving air

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