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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 116 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: kick · mine · file · kid · rule · bark · tube · mate

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. mate — a friend
  4. tube — the underground
  5. file — a tool
  6. mate — to breed
  7. mine — for digging
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. kid — to tease
  10. file — a line of people
  11. rule — government
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. bark — to shout
  16. kick — in football
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. file — a document
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. mate — a partner
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. rule — a law
  23. tube — a container
  24. kid — child

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