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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: season · net · tube · hand · rule · pop · key · land

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. net — after costs
  3. key — for a lock
  4. rule — a law
  5. rule — government
  6. net — for catching
  7. pop — music
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. season — of the year
  10. tube — the underground
  11. season — in sport
  12. land — a country
  13. key — the most important part
  14. net — in sport
  15. hand — help
  16. pop — to visit
  17. key — in music
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. land — ground
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. tube — a container
  22. hand — in cards
  23. land — to come down
  24. pop — soda

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