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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. cold — not warm
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. wax — to grow
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. prune — to trim
  8. board — to get on
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. board — a committee
  11. land — to come down
  12. rule — government
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. land — a country
  16. cold — an illness
  17. prune — to trim
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. rule — a law
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. land — ground
  24. deal — to handle

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