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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. prune — to trim
  3. clip — a video
  4. clip — for paper
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. cue — a hint
  7. land — a country
  8. land — to come down
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. land — ground
  11. prune — to trim
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. cue — for pool
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. spell — letters
  16. spell — magic
  17. clip — to cut
  18. cue — a signal

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