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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 need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. land — a country
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. lie — to recline
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. track — to keep track
  7. rule — a law
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. tube — the underground
  10. game — wild animals
  11. tube — a container
  12. hand — help
  13. rule — government
  14. drill — a practice
  15. game — a match
  16. land — ground
  17. drill — army training
  18. track — a path
  19. land — to come down
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. hand — in cards
  22. drill — the tool
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. track — a song

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