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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. prune — to trim
  8. root — of a word
  9. root — the cause
  10. cell — a phone
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. root — of a plant
  14. last — to go on
  15. sharp — clever
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. rule — a law
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. last — finally
  20. cell — in biology
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. last — final
  23. prune — to trim
  24. rule — government

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