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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. net — in sport
  3. present — a gift
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. date — the fruit
  6. stem — to come from
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. present — there
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. rule — a law
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. cold — an illness
  17. prune — to trim
  18. bass — the fish
  19. net — for catching
  20. net — after costs
  21. bass — low music
  22. prune — to trim
  23. cold — not warm
  24. present — the time now

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