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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. prune — to trim
  3. kid — child
  4. kid — to tease
  5. cue — for pool
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. rule — a law
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. cell — a phone
  10. rule — government
  11. prune — to trim
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. cue — a signal
  17. cell — in biology
  18. bowl — a dish

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