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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · rule · squash · file · fork · mark · degree · mine

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. tube — the underground
  3. mark — a grade
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. degree — an amount
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. mark — a trace
  9. file — a tool
  10. rule — government
  11. file — a document
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. squash — to crush
  14. mine — for digging
  15. file — a line of people
  16. squash — the sport
  17. degree — from a university
  18. tube — a container
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. degree — temperature
  21. fork — in a road
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. rule — a law

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