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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: last · stick · cold · prune · cap · rule · plane · mark

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cap — of ice
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. mark — a grade
  8. prune — to trim
  9. last — to go on
  10. plane — a tool
  11. cap — a hat
  12. rule — a law
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. prune — to trim
  15. cap — a lid
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. rule — government
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. cold — an illness
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. last — finally
  23. last — final
  24. mark — a trace

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