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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: tube · prune · rash · mine · cabinet · chest · rule · cold

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. prune — to trim
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. rule — government
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. chest — a box
  8. prune — to trim
  9. mine — for digging
  10. tube — a container
  11. chest — of your body
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. rash — a series
  14. cold — an illness
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. rule — a law
  18. chest — of your body
  19. cold — not warm
  20. tube — the underground
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. rash — hasty
  24. cabinet — ministers

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