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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. rash — hasty
  3. charge — electricity
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. prune — to trim
  7. file — a tool
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. prune — to trim
  10. file — a line of people
  11. rash — a series
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. snap — to click
  17. charge — in control
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. charge — a price
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. file — a document
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cold — an illness

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