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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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — to trim
  6. pound — a weight
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. rule — a law
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. pit — in a race
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. wake — a trail
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. mine — for digging
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. hand — help
  19. pit — a hole
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. rule — government
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. chair — a leader
  24. hand — in cards

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