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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. land — a country
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. cap — of ice
  8. toast — bread
  9. cap — a hat
  10. bark — to shout
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. land — ground
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. cell — in biology
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. land — to come down
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. cell — a phone
  23. prune — to trim
  24. cap — a lid

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