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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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Word bank
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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: chest · ruler · rule · tube · arm · season · march · dip

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. chest — a box
  6. march — the month
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. march — music
  9. rule — government
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. tube — the underground
  14. tube — a container
  15. dip — to sink
  16. chest — of your body
  17. rule — a law
  18. season — in sport
  19. march — the month
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. season — of the year
  24. dip — a sauce

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