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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 · rule · cue · club · prune · row · cell · wind

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. cue — for pool
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. club — a group
  7. row — to paddle
  8. rule — a law
  9. club — for dancing
  10. cue — a hint
  11. club — for golf
  12. rule — government
  13. cell — in biology
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wind — moving air
  18. content — happy
  19. cue — a signal
  20. content — the amount
  21. row — a line
  22. wind — moving air
  23. prune — to trim
  24. prune — to trim

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