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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: chair · rule · fine · perch · cap · prune · spell · kid

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. cap — of ice
  3. spell — a short time
  4. spell — magic
  5. rule — a law
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. kid — to tease
  8. fine — all right
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. perch — the fish
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. kid — child
  13. chair — a leader
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. cap — a lid
  17. rule — government
  18. prune — to trim
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. cap — a hat
  22. fine — high quality
  23. spell — letters
  24. perch — for a bird

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