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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. rule — government
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. prune — to trim
  5. cell — a phone
  6. file — a tool
  7. march — music
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. stem — to come from
  15. bark — to shout
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. file — a document
  18. file — a line of people
  19. march — the month
  20. cell — in biology
  21. rule — a law
  22. prune — to trim
  23. march — the month
  24. bark — of a tree

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