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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  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. tube — in a tire
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. capital — money
  5. press — a publisher
  6. rule — a law
  7. capital — a city
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. date — the fruit
  10. branch — a division
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. rule — government
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. bark — to shout
  17. press — to push
  18. chip — to eat
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. press — newspapers
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. chip — for betting
  23. tube — the underground
  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