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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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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: arm · march · rule · net · date · fork · lie · prune

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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. lie — to recline
  4. rule — a law
  5. net — in sport
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. fork — in a road
  10. prune — to trim
  11. net — after costs
  12. march — the month
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. march — the month
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. date — the fruit
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. net — for catching
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. march — music
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. fork — a garden tool

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