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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. mate — to breed
  3. rule — government
  4. pound — a weight
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. net — after costs
  7. mate — a friend
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. spring — the season
  11. net — for catching
  12. net — in sport
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. fine — high quality
  15. fine — all right
  16. spring — a coil
  17. mate — a partner
  18. prune — to trim
  19. rule — a law
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. spring — of water

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