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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: club · snap · prune · rule · deal · march

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. rule — government
  3. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. deal — to handle
  6. rule — a law
  7. club — for golf
  8. club — a group
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. club — for dancing
  14. snap — to click
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. prune — to trim
  18. march — music

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