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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 124 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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. club — for golf
  4. club — for dancing
  5. rule — a law
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. prune — to trim
  9. tear — from crying
  10. mate — a partner
  11. wind — moving air
  12. tear — from crying
  13. rule — government
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. prune — to trim
  16. wind — moving air
  17. club — a group
  18. stem — to come from
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. board — to get on
  22. tear — to rip
  23. board — a committee
  24. mate — to breed

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