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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: rush · rule · snap · tube · cell · club · perch · last

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. cell — a phone
  3. rule — a law
  4. last — to go on
  5. perch — the fish
  6. cell — in biology
  7. last — final
  8. last — finally
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. snap — to click
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. club — for dancing
  16. rush — hurry
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. club — for golf
  19. tube — the underground
  20. rule — government
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. club — a group
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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