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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. rule — a law
  3. band — a ring
  4. press — newspapers
  5. press — to push
  6. field — a subject
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. court — for sport
  9. court — of law
  10. chip — for betting
  11. band — a music group
  12. prune — to trim
  13. chip — to eat
  14. field — for sport
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — an illness
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. press — a publisher
  20. court — of a king
  21. rule — government
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. field — farmland
  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