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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: last · cap · land · tube · mug · spring · rule · temple

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. spring — a coil
  5. mug — a cup
  6. mug — a face
  7. tube — a container
  8. rule — a law
  9. last — final
  10. spring — the season
  11. last — finally
  12. cap — of ice
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. last — to go on
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. land — ground
  18. cap — a lid
  19. mug — to rob
  20. cap — a hat
  21. land — to come down
  22. rule — government
  23. tube — the underground
  24. spring — of water

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