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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 116 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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. net — in sport
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. prune — to trim
  5. fork — in a road
  6. net — for catching
  7. shower — to wash
  8. suit — in cards
  9. land — ground
  10. clip — for paper
  11. clip — to cut
  12. land — a country
  13. suit — clothes
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. rule — government
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. net — after costs
  19. shower — rain
  20. rule — a law
  21. suit — to fit
  22. land — to come down
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. clip — a video

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