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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. prune — to trim
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — an illness
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. land — a country
  8. cap — a lid
  9. cap — of ice
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. branch — a division
  13. cap — a hat
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. land — to come down
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. rule — a law
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. prune — to trim
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. land — ground
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. rule — government

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