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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 116 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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. wind — moving air
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. march — music
  6. snap — to click
  7. root — of a word
  8. root — of a plant
  9. rule — government
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. tear — from crying
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. march — the month
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. root — the cause
  16. prune — to trim
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. march — the month
  19. wind — moving air
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. rule — a law
  22. prune — to trim
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — to rip

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