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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. tear — from crying
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. rule — a law
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. rash — a series
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. content — happy
  9. wind — moving air
  10. prune — to trim
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. tear — from crying
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bear — the animal
  16. prune — to trim
  17. perch — the fish
  18. content — the amount
  19. rash — hasty
  20. rule — government
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. tear — to rip
  23. bear — the animal
  24. content — videos and posts

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