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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: prune · bay · arm · rule · capital · tear

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. rule — a law
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. prune — to trim
  7. tear — from crying
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. rule — government
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. tear — to rip
  13. tear — from crying
  14. prune — to trim
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. capital — a city
  18. capital — money

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