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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 · bay · rule · fine · perch · club · cold · roll

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. perch — the fish
  3. rule — government
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. roll — a cake
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. prune — to trim
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. roll — a list
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. prune — to trim
  15. rule — a law
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. cold — an illness
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. club — a group
  21. club — for dancing
  22. club — for golf
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. fine — all right

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