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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. rule — a law
  3. cap — a hat
  4. mug — to rob
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. prune — to trim
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. wound — an injury
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mine — for digging
  11. mug — a face
  12. mug — a cup
  13. rule — government
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. spring — a coil
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. wound — an injury
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. cap — of ice
  21. spring — of water
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. cap — a lid
  24. spring — the season

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