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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. cell — a phone
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. prune — to trim
  6. key — in music
  7. bear — the animal
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. key — the most important part
  11. prune — to trim
  12. bear — the animal
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. rule — a law
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. rule — government
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. cell — in biology
  21. key — for a lock
  22. branch — a division
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. dip — to sink

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