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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: bark · kick · mine · prune · club · chair · hand · rule

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. chair — a leader
  5. hand — in cards
  6. bark — to shout
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. prune — to trim
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. club — for golf
  12. rule — a law
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. club — for dancing
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. hand — help
  19. kick — in football
  20. mine — for digging
  21. rule — government
  22. prune — to trim
  23. club — a group
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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