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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. rule — government
  7. mark — a trace
  8. press — newspapers
  9. prune — to trim
  10. field — a subject
  11. press — a publisher
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. field — for sport
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. press — to push
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. mark — a grade
  19. tear — to rip
  20. tear — from crying
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. field — farmland
  23. rule — a law
  24. tear — from crying

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