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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. rule — government
  3. rule — a law
  4. pop — to visit
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. tear — from crying
  7. swing — to play on
  8. tear — to rip
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. swing — music
  11. swing — in golf
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. cell — a phone
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. prune — to trim
  16. pop — music
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. cell — in biology
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. prune — to trim
  21. pop — soda
  22. tear — from crying
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — a sick person

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