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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. spell — a short time
  3. spring — of water
  4. rule — a law
  5. branch — a division
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. prune — to trim
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. spell — letters
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — the season
  13. prune — to trim
  14. spell — magic
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. rule — government
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bat — for baseball

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