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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. row — to paddle
  3. bear — the animal
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. rule — a law
  6. rash — hasty
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — an illness
  10. bound — tied together
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. prune — to trim
  13. rash — a series
  14. rule — government
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. present — a gift
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. present — the time now
  19. bear — the animal
  20. present — there
  21. prune — to trim
  22. bound — certain
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. bound — obliged

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