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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. saw — the tool
  5. prune — to trim
  6. rule — a law
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. saw — the tool
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. rule — government
  11. kid — to tease
  12. prune — to trim
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. vault — a safe
  20. kid — child
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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