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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. face — to confront
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. wake — a trail
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. pass — a permit
  9. wound — an injury
  10. spring — the season
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. spring — of water
  13. prune — to trim
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. rule — government
  16. face — to point toward
  17. rule — a law
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. face — part of the head
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. spring — a coil
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. pass — to spend time

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