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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: rule · spell · rest · row · clip · key · rush · prune

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. prune — to trim
  3. clip — for paper
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. rest — what's left
  6. spell — letters
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. prune — to trim
  9. spell — magic
  10. rest — what's left
  11. clip — to cut
  12. key — the most important part
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. key — in music
  15. rule — government
  16. row — a line
  17. rush — hurry
  18. rest — a break
  19. clip — a video
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. key — for a lock
  23. spell — a short time
  24. row — to paddle

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