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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: rule · rock · fork · temple · field · tear · prune · content

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. rule — government
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — from crying
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. content — the amount
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. prune — to trim
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. field — farmland
  12. rock — a stone
  13. field — for sport
  14. field — a subject
  15. rule — a law
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. content — happy
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. rock — music
  22. fork — in a road
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. tear — to rip

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