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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. prune — to trim
  4. rule — government
  5. wound — an injury
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. spring — a coil
  9. prune — to trim
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. rule — a law
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. roll — a cake
  16. season — of the year
  17. season — in sport
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. spring — of water
  20. rest — what's left
  21. spring — the season
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rest — a break
  24. roll — a list

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