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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. land — ground
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. squash — the sport
  7. rule — a law
  8. rule — government
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. land — a country
  11. ground — the earth
  12. field — farmland
  13. bulb — for light
  14. prune — to trim
  15. field — a subject
  16. land — to come down
  17. field — for sport
  18. ground — a position
  19. squash — to crush
  20. prune — to trim
  21. ground — crushed
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bulb — of a plant

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