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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 120 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: cue · tear · present · lean · land · rule · pass · prune

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. tear — from crying
  3. rule — government
  4. rule — a law
  5. lean — thin
  6. pass — a permit
  7. tear — from crying
  8. present — there
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. cue — for pool
  11. cue — a signal
  12. tear — to rip
  13. land — ground
  14. cue — a hint
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. present — a gift
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. present — the time now
  19. land — to come down
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — to trim
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. land — a country

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