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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 120 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: prune · cold · cap · wind · mine · cabinet · club · rule

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. prune — to trim
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cap — a lid
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. rule — government
  8. club — a group
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cap — a hat
  11. rule — a law
  12. club — for golf
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. club — for dancing
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — moving air
  20. prune — to trim
  21. cap — of ice
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. mine — for digging

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