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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. mine — for digging
  7. march — music
  8. kick — in football
  9. hand — help
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. content — happy
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. march — the month
  16. march — the month
  17. content — the amount
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. race — humankind
  20. race — a contest
  21. prune — to trim
  22. race — the arms race
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. hand — in cards

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