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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. cell — in biology
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. bound — tied together
  6. cold — an illness
  7. season — of the year
  8. season — in sport
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. pound — a weight
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. bound — obliged
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. bound — certain
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. prune — to trim
  22. prune — to trim
  23. rule — a law
  24. cell — a phone

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