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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 124 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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. scale — in music
  3. scale — size or range
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. band — a ring
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. band — a music group
  8. prune — to trim
  9. kid — to tease
  10. stem — to come from
  11. chest — of your body
  12. rule — a law
  13. kid — child
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. rash — hasty
  18. rash — a series
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. prune — to trim
  21. chest — a box
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. rule — government
  24. chest — of your body

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