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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 120 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: rest · tube · racket · mark · saw · cold · rule · prune

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. mark — a grade
  3. tube — the underground
  4. mark — a trace
  5. saw — the tool
  6. cold — an illness
  7. saw — the tool
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. rest — what's left
  12. rule — government
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. prune — to trim
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. rule — a law
  17. cold — not warm
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. tube — a container
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. prune — to trim
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. rest — a break

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