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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: present · bay · prune · kick · cold · stick · rule · row

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. row — to paddle
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. prune — to trim
  6. present — a gift
  7. cold — an illness
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. row — a line
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. cold — not warm
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. kick — in football
  17. present — the time now
  18. prune — to trim
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. rule — government
  22. present — there
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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