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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 120 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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. mark — a grade
  4. rule — government
  5. fall — to drop
  6. rule — a law
  7. prune — to trim
  8. net — after costs
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. mark — a trace
  11. fall — the season
  12. hand — help
  13. sharp — clever
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. net — in sport
  20. fall — to drop
  21. hand — in cards
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. net — for catching
  24. deal — to handle

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