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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. rest — what's left
  3. rule — government
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. rest — a break
  8. last — to go on
  9. last — final
  10. snap — to click
  11. last — finally
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. net — after costs
  15. rule — a law
  16. tube — a container
  17. net — in sport
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. tube — the underground
  22. net — for catching
  23. rest — what's left
  24. wake — a trail

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