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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. land — to come down
  3. rule — a law
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. face — to confront
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. land — a country
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. kid — to tease
  12. face — to point toward
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. rule — government
  15. land — ground
  16. bore — to tire
  17. kid — child
  18. snap — to click
  19. perch — the fish
  20. prune — to trim
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. bore — to drill
  23. face — part of the head
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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