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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. field — a subject
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. cue — a hint
  8. field — for sport
  9. rule — a law
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. field — farmland
  12. cue — a signal
  13. cue — for pool
  14. cold — an illness
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. mine — for digging
  18. prune — to trim
  19. cold — not warm
  20. rule — government
  21. hand — help
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. hand — in cards

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