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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. rule — a law
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. club — a group
  7. spell — letters
  8. club — for dancing
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. bound — obliged
  12. club — for golf
  13. spell — magic
  14. bound — tied together
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. scale — size or range
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. last — final
  19. spell — a short time
  20. bound — certain
  21. last — finally
  22. scale — in music
  23. rule — government
  24. last — to go on

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