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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. bank — for money
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. stock — goods
  6. stock — shares
  7. rule — government
  8. capital — money
  9. bank — for money
  10. rest — what's left
  11. cold — an illness
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rest — a break
  14. rule — a law
  15. rock — a stone
  16. capital — a city
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. cold — not warm
  21. rock — music
  22. bank — of a river
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. prune — to trim

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