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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. rule — government
  4. cold — not warm
  5. prune — to trim
  6. stock — goods
  7. fine — all right
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. fine — high quality
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cell — in biology
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. stock — shares
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. cold — an illness
  18. prune — to trim
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. root — of a word
  21. root — the cause
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. root — of a plant
  24. rule — a law

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