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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: prune · chest · rule · game · season · tear · bank · snap

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. tear — from crying
  3. season — in sport
  4. game — a match
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. season — of the year
  7. bank — for money
  8. tear — from crying
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. snap — to click
  11. bank — for money
  12. tear — to rip
  13. chest — a box
  14. rule — government
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. rule — a law
  17. prune — to trim
  18. chest — of your body
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. game — wild animals
  21. prune — to trim
  22. chest — of your body
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. bank — of a river

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