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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. suit — clothes
  4. cell — in biology
  5. row — to paddle
  6. field — a subject
  7. prune — to trim
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. suit — to fit
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. rule — government
  12. field — for sport
  13. prune — to trim
  14. row — a line
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. cell — a phone
  19. suit — in cards
  20. court — for sport
  21. court — of a king
  22. field — farmland
  23. court — of law
  24. cell — in a prison

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