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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: arm · rule · prune · club · leaves · bass · row · capital

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  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. leaves — to go away
  2. rule — government
  3. capital — money
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. prune — to trim
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. bass — the fish
  9. club — for golf
  10. rule — a law
  11. club — a group
  12. capital — a city
  13. prune — to trim
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. bass — low music
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. row — a line
  23. club — for dancing
  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