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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: date · wave · prune · stick · cell · current · rule · bulb

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. bulb — for light
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. bulb — for light
  9. date — the fruit
  10. cell — a phone
  11. current — of water
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. prune — to trim
  14. cell — in biology
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. rule — government
  19. prune — to trim
  20. current — electric
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. current — happening now
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. date — on the calendar

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