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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 would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. rule — a law
  3. prune — to trim
  4. kid — child
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. rash — a series
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. prune — to trim
  12. kid — to tease
  13. net — in sport
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rule — government
  16. fork — in a road
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. net — after costs
  19. bass — low music
  20. rash — hasty
  21. net — for catching
  22. bass — the fish
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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