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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: drill · pitch · scale · tube · shower · rule · last · land

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. land — to come down
  4. drill — army training
  5. shower — to wash
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. scale — in music
  8. land — ground
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. pitch — completely
  11. rule — government
  12. scale — size or range
  13. tube — a container
  14. last — final
  15. last — finally
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. shower — rain
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. drill — the tool
  21. rule — a law
  22. last — to go on
  23. drill — a practice
  24. land — a country

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