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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: tube · last · cell · rule · chip · fall

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. tube — the underground
  3. last — final
  4. tube — a container
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — the season
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. cell — in biology
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. last — finally
  13. last — to go on
  14. chip — for betting
  15. rule — a law
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. rule — government
  18. cell — a phone

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