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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: cell · rule · cold · dip · board · rash · prune · jam

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. rule — a law
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — to trim
  5. cell — a phone
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. rash — a series
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. cell — in biology
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. board — a committee
  14. cold — not warm
  15. dip — to sink
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. rule — government
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. rash — hasty
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. board — to get on
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. cold — an illness

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