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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 116 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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. tube — the underground
  3. rule — government
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. drill — the tool
  6. file — a document
  7. tube — a container
  8. degree — an amount
  9. current — of water
  10. file — a line of people
  11. degree — temperature
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. file — a tool
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. rule — a law
  18. drill — army training
  19. wax — to grow
  20. drill — a practice
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. degree — from a university
  23. current — happening now
  24. current — electric

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