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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 get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. foot — a measure
  3. prune — to trim
  4. root — the cause
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. last — to go on
  7. root — of a word
  8. prune — to trim
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. file — a tool
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. kick — in football
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. file — a line of people
  16. rule — government
  17. last — final
  18. file — a document
  19. rule — a law
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. cell — a phone
  22. root — of a plant
  23. cell — in biology
  24. last — finally

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