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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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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: mate · tube · bark · cap · sharp · bulb · tear · rule

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. cap — a hat
  3. bulb — for light
  4. rule — government
  5. tear — from crying
  6. cap — a lid
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. tear — to rip
  10. cap — of ice
  11. bulb — for light
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. rule — a law
  14. sharp — clever
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. mate — to breed
  17. mate — a partner
  18. mate — a friend
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. tube — a container
  21. tear — from crying
  22. bark — to shout
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. tube — in a tire

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