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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. rule — a law
  4. drill — army training
  5. current — electric
  6. drill — the tool
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. prune — to trim
  9. snap — to click
  10. object — to protest
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. current — happening now
  15. object — an aim
  16. drill — a practice
  17. pit — in a race
  18. object — a thing
  19. sharp — clever
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. rule — government
  22. pit — a hole
  23. current — of water
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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