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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 120 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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. land — a country
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. prune — to trim
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. rule — government
  11. pop — music
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. content — the amount
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. content — happy
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. rule — a law
  18. land — ground
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. pop — soda
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. fork — in a road
  23. land — to come down
  24. prune — to trim

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