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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. rule — a law
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. prune — to trim
  9. hand — help
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. date — the fruit
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. row — to paddle
  16. craft — boats
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. prune — to trim
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. hand — in cards
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. row — a line
  24. craft — a skill

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