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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 116 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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. hand — help
  5. clip — a video
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. hand — in cards
  8. face — to point toward
  9. face — to confront
  10. face — part of the head
  11. mark — a grade
  12. mark — a trace
  13. prune — to trim
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. clip — for paper
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. clip — to cut

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