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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. court — of a king
  3. rule — a law
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. deal — to handle
  6. court — for sport
  7. spell — magic
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. spell — a short time
  12. court — of law
  13. spell — letters
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — a break
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. pound — a weight
  19. ground — a position
  20. ground — crushed
  21. ground — the earth
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. rule — government
  24. prune — to trim

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