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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. club — for golf
  3. firm — a company
  4. prune — to trim
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. capital — a city
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. kid — child
  10. firm — decided
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. rule — government
  14. date — the fruit
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. kid — to tease
  17. prune — to trim
  18. firm — steady
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. club — a group
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. club — for dancing
  24. capital — money

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