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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. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. rule — a law
  3. prune — to trim
  4. race — humankind
  5. rule — government
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. race — a contest
  8. wound — an injury
  9. net — for catching
  10. race — the arms race
  11. prune — to trim
  12. net — after costs
  13. bat — the animal
  14. wound — an injury
  15. net — in sport
  16. spring — the season
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. spring — of water
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. spring — a coil

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