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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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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: stem · net · safe · bat · game · tube · can · rule

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. rule — a law
  5. net — in sport
  6. stem — to come from
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. game — a match
  10. net — after costs
  11. game — wild animals
  12. tube — the underground
  13. can — a tin
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. can — a tin
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. rule — government
  19. net — for catching
  20. can — to be able to
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. tube — a container
  24. bat — the animal

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