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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 captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. board — a committee
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. shower — rain
  6. cold — not warm
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. prune — to trim
  9. perch — the fish
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. cold — an illness
  12. prune — to trim
  13. tube — a container
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. shower — to wash
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. rule — a law
  23. tube — the underground
  24. rule — government

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