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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. plane — a tool
  4. mine — for digging
  5. ground — the earth
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. key — the most important part
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. prune — to trim
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. clip — a video
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. prune — to trim
  19. key — for a lock
  20. clip — for paper
  21. ground — a position
  22. branch — a division
  23. clip — to cut
  24. key — in music

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