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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. chair — a leader
  5. rule — government
  6. plane — a tool
  7. prune — to trim
  8. face — to confront
  9. tube — a container
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. rule — a law
  13. face — part of the head
  14. prune — to trim
  15. tube — the underground
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. face — to point toward
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. fine — high quality
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. plane — an aircraft

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