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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  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. last — to go on
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. prune — to trim
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. prune — to trim
  7. present — a gift
  8. rule — a law
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. hand — in cards
  12. present — the time now
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. last — finally
  16. last — final
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. present — there
  19. rule — government
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. hand — help
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. patient — a sick person
  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