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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: charge · swing · rule · cold · prune · cue · fine · mouse

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. charge — electricity
  3. prune — to trim
  4. fine — high quality
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. cue — for pool
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. cue — a signal
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. cue — a hint
  13. fine — all right
  14. charge — a price
  15. cold — not warm
  16. swing — to play on
  17. rule — a law
  18. charge — in control
  19. swing — in golf
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. swing — music
  22. rule — government
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. cold — an illness

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