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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: tube · straw · mate · mark · rule · prune · can · hand

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. hand — in cards
  4. rule — government
  5. mark — a grade
  6. tube — the underground
  7. mark — a trace
  8. tube — a container
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. mate — a partner
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. can — a tin
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. can — to be able to
  15. mate — a friend
  16. prune — to trim
  17. rule — a law
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. prune — to trim
  20. can — a tin
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. mate — to breed

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