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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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  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. chip — to eat
  2. prune — to trim
  3. pop — soda
  4. saw — the tool
  5. shower — to wash
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. rule — a law
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. row — a line
  10. branch — a division
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. pop — to visit
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. chip — for betting
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. pop — music
  18. prune — to trim
  19. row — to paddle
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. saw — the tool
  22. shower — rain
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  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