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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  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. prune — to trim
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. squash — the sport
  5. prune — to trim
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. clip — to cut
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. race — the arms race
  14. race — a contest
  15. squash — to crush
  16. kid — to tease
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. clip — a video
  19. race — humankind
  20. clip — for paper
  21. rule — government
  22. kid — child
  23. chair — a leader
  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