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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. mine — for digging
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. cold — not warm
  11. prune — to trim
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. rule — a law
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. deal — to handle
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. rule — government
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — an illness
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. trunk — of a car

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