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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: deal · rule · chair · wound · content · charge · prune · wind

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. rule — government
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. chair — a leader
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. content — the amount
  10. prune — to trim
  11. charge — in control
  12. deal — to handle
  13. wind — moving air
  14. prune — to trim
  15. rule — a law
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. charge — a price
  18. content — happy
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. charge — electricity
  21. wind — moving air
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. chair — a professorship

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