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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. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. prune — to trim
  3. row — a line
  4. field — farmland
  5. prune — to trim
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. lean — to bend
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. field — a subject
  11. race — a contest
  12. race — humankind
  13. field — for sport
  14. lean — thin
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. rule — a law
  18. race — the arms race
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. board — to get on
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. row — to paddle
  23. board — a committee
  24. rule — government

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