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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: rule · prune · arm · ground · stand · cold · bear · calf

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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. cold — an illness
  4. bear — the animal
  5. ground — crushed
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. cold — not warm
  8. ground — the earth
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. ground — a position
  12. rule — a law
  13. bear — the animal
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. prune — to trim
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. stand — to bear

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