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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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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: present · wound · cold · rule · mine · toast · tube · bay

  1. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. rule — government
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — an injury
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. rule — a law
  8. present — a gift
  9. present — there
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. mine — for digging
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. cold — an illness
  16. toast — bread
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. present — the time now
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. tube — a container
  24. tube — the underground

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