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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: rule · shower · tube · face · bulb · cell · prune · file

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. tube — a container
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. face — to point toward
  6. rule — a law
  7. face — part of the head
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cell — in biology
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. face — to confront
  13. bulb — for light
  14. shower — rain
  15. shower — to wash
  16. file — a line of people
  17. prune — to trim
  18. rule — government
  19. tube — the underground
  20. file — a tool
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. file — a document
  23. cell — a phone
  24. prune — to trim

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