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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: tube · rule · cold · track · prune · ball · trunk · foot

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. prune — to trim
  3. ball — a dance
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. ball — a great time
  6. rule — a law
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. track — to keep track
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. cold — an illness
  15. tube — a container
  16. prune — to trim
  17. foot — a measure
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. tube — the underground
  20. cold — not warm
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. track — a song
  23. rule — government
  24. track — a path

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