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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. prune — to trim
  3. race — the arms race
  4. prune — to trim
  5. club — for golf
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. row — a line
  9. rule — a law
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. club — a group
  12. row — to paddle
  13. club — for dancing
  14. race — humankind
  15. race — a contest
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. rush — hurry
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — moving air
  23. content — happy
  24. rule — government

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