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

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. shower — rain
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. rule — government
  5. prune — to trim
  6. deal — to handle
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. mine — for digging
  9. shower — to wash
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. prune — to trim
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. branch — a division
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. deal — an agreement

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