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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 116 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. prune — to trim
  3. charge — electricity
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. spell — letters
  6. charge — a price
  7. clip — a video
  8. spell — a short time
  9. charge — in control
  10. clip — for paper
  11. rash — a series
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. rule — government
  15. rash — hasty
  16. rule — a law
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. spell — magic
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. bank — of a river
  21. bank — for money
  22. clip — to cut
  23. bank — for money
  24. prune — to trim

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