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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. rule — a law
  3. prune — to trim
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. prune — to trim
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. kick — in football
  9. net — in sport
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. fork — in a road
  12. degree — from a university
  13. rule — government
  14. net — after costs
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. degree — temperature
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. degree — an amount
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. net — for catching
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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