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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: firm · swing · rule · mine · kid · roll · prune · season

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. swing — in golf
  3. kid — child
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. kid — to tease
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. firm — decided
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. swing — music
  11. rule — government
  12. rule — a law
  13. prune — to trim
  14. roll — a list
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. swing — to play on
  17. mine — for digging
  18. firm — a company
  19. season — in sport
  20. season — of the year
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. firm — steady
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  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