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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: key · bulb · prune · cold · roll · clip · staff · rule

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — a stick
  3. clip — to cut
  4. roll — a list
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. prune — to trim
  7. rule — government
  8. key — in music
  9. roll — a cake
  10. cold — an illness
  11. bulb — for light
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. staff — employees
  14. key — for a lock
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. clip — a video
  18. cold — not warm
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. clip — for paper
  21. bulb — for light
  22. rule — a law
  23. prune — to trim
  24. key — the most important part

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