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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 · mate · fork · rule · arm · bore · face · clip

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. mate — to breed
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. clip — to cut
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. face — to point toward
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. face — part of the head
  9. clip — a video
  10. mate — a friend
  11. clip — for paper
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. mate — a partner
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. fork — in a road
  18. tube — the underground
  19. rule — a law
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. bore — to tire
  22. tube — a container
  23. bore — to drill
  24. rule — government

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