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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. rule — government
  3. bear — the animal
  4. prune — to trim
  5. cell — in biology
  6. staff — employees
  7. staff — a stick
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. rule — a law
  10. cold — an illness
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a line of people
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. bear — the animal
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. prune — to trim
  19. file — a tool
  20. staff — employees
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. cold — not warm
  24. patient — a sick person

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