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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: mine · tube · last · pit · leaves · ruler · hand · rash

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. rash — hasty
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. tube — a container
  6. last — finally
  7. pit — a hole
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. last — to go on
  12. hand — help
  13. mine — for digging
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. rash — a series
  16. pit — in a race
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. tube — the underground
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. hand — in cards
  23. last — final
  24. mine — an explosive

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