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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. squash — to crush
  3. rule — a law
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. prune — to trim
  7. scale — in music
  8. prune — to trim
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. scale — size or range
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. stem — to come from
  16. court — of law
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. shower — to wash
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. court — of a king
  21. shower — rain
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. rule — government
  24. squash — the sport

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