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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: perch · dip · spring · rule · prune · wind · hand · court

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. wind — moving air
  3. hand — in cards
  4. prune — to trim
  5. spring — a coil
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. spring — of water
  8. court — of a king
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. rule — a law
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. court — for sport
  13. dip — to sink
  14. court — of law
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. wind — moving air
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. spring — the season
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. prune — to trim
  23. perch — the fish
  24. hand — help

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