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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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Word bank
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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: rule · spring · firm · prune · board · cell · clip · nail

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. rule — government
  3. cell — a phone
  4. firm — steady
  5. rule — a law
  6. clip — to cut
  7. clip — for paper
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. spring — of water
  10. firm — decided
  11. prune — to trim
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. board — a committee
  17. firm — a company
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. clip — a video
  20. cell — in biology
  21. prune — to trim
  22. spring — the season
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. spring — a coil

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