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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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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 · tear · cold · tube · fall · band · key · march

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. band — a music group
  3. fall — to drop
  4. key — in music
  5. march — music
  6. cold — not warm
  7. tube — a container
  8. band — a ring
  9. fall — to drop
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. fall — the season
  12. rule — government
  13. key — the most important part
  14. tear — from crying
  15. march — the month
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. cold — an illness
  19. march — the month
  20. key — for a lock
  21. rule — a law
  22. tear — to rip
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tube — the underground

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