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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 120 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: tube · bore · fork · ground · band · race · rule · nail

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. bore — to drill
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. tube — the underground
  5. fork — in a road
  6. race — a contest
  7. tube — a container
  8. rule — government
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. band — a ring
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. race — humankind
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. ground — a position
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. band — a music group
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. bore — to tire
  22. ground — the earth
  23. rule — a law
  24. race — the arms race

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