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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. cue — a signal
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. cue — a hint
  5. root — the cause
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. rule — a law
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. rule — government
  11. hand — help
  12. root — of a plant
  13. bark — to shout
  14. tube — the underground
  15. root — of a word
  16. cue — for pool
  17. last — final
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — in cards
  20. last — finally
  21. last — to go on
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. season — in sport
  24. tube — a container

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