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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. prune — to trim
  3. mate — a friend
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. land — a country
  6. clip — for paper
  7. plane — a tool
  8. land — ground
  9. land — to come down
  10. clip — a video
  11. bound — tied together
  12. rest — a break
  13. prune — to trim
  14. mate — a partner
  15. rest — what's left
  16. clip — to cut
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. rest — what's left
  19. mate — to breed
  20. fork — in a road
  21. bound — certain
  22. bound — obliged
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. plane — an aircraft

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