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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: calf · prune · face · jam · pop · rule · date · spring

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. pop — music
  3. spring — the season
  4. pop — to visit
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. face — to point toward
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. prune — to trim
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. spring — of water
  12. rule — government
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. rule — a law
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. face — to confront
  17. pop — soda
  18. prune — to trim
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. spring — a coil
  22. date — the fruit
  23. face — part of the head
  24. calf — of the leg

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