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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. bulb — for light
  4. suit — in cards
  5. suit — clothes
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — not warm
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. land — a country
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. bulb — for light
  13. land — ground
  14. clip — a video
  15. land — to come down
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. clip — for paper
  18. suit — to fit
  19. rule — government
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. rule — a law
  22. prune — to trim
  23. clip — to cut
  24. bulb — of a plant

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