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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. object — to protest
  4. rule — a law
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. date — the fruit
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. file — a line of people
  12. prune — to trim
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. rule — government
  16. object — a thing
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. file — a tool
  19. object — an aim
  20. roll — a cake
  21. prune — to trim
  22. file — a document
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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