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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.

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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: content · prune · kick · spring · tear · leaves · rule · face

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. spring — of water
  3. spring — a coil
  4. face — part of the head
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. tear — to rip
  8. rule — government
  9. tear — from crying
  10. face — to confront
  11. kick — in football
  12. content — the amount
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. content — happy
  15. prune — to trim
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. face — to point toward
  19. rule — a law
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. spring — the season
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. tear — from crying

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