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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: file · cell · wave · tube · rule · present

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. tube — a container
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. rule — government
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. cell — a phone
  7. rule — a law
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. present — a gift
  10. file — a document
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. file — a tool
  14. present — there
  15. present — the time now
  16. file — a line of people
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. tube — in a tire

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