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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 124 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. spell — a short time
  3. prune — to trim
  4. club — for golf
  5. present — the time now
  6. clip — a video
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. present — a gift
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. spell — letters
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. club — a group
  13. present — there
  14. file — a tool
  15. file — a document
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. prune — to trim
  18. spell — magic
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. clip — to cut
  21. club — for dancing
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. file — a line of people
  24. lie — to recline

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