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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. hand — help
  3. rule — a law
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. charge — in control
  10. charge — electricity
  11. mug — a face
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. mug — a cup
  14. stock — goods
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. prune — to trim
  18. rule — government
  19. squash — the sport
  20. stock — shares
  21. squash — to crush
  22. hand — in cards
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. charge — a price

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