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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. band — a ring
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. prune — to trim
  5. current — electric
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. drill — a practice
  8. prune — to trim
  9. chair — a leader
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. staff — employees
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. current — of water
  14. drill — the tool
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. staff — employees
  18. rule — government
  19. band — a music group
  20. pound — a weight
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. staff — a stick
  23. drill — army training
  24. current — happening now

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