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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. bound — tied together
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. prune — to trim
  7. field — farmland
  8. wax — to grow
  9. degree — temperature
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. rule — government
  12. degree — an amount
  13. field — a subject
  14. bound — obliged
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. bound — certain
  17. field — for sport
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. degree — from a university
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. prune — to trim
  24. prune — the fruit

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