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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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. rule — government
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. object — an aim
  10. fall — to drop
  11. rule — a law
  12. net — after costs
  13. object — a thing
  14. fall — to drop
  15. prune — to trim
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. prune — to trim
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. net — in sport
  20. wake — a trail
  21. net — for catching
  22. object — to protest
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. fall — the season

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