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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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. object — an aim
  8. land — a country
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. hand — in cards
  11. rule — government
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. hand — help
  14. rule — a law
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. prune — to trim
  18. object — to protest
  19. plane — a tool
  20. land — to come down
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. object — a thing
  23. branch — a division
  24. lie — to recline

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