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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. march — the month
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. march — the month
  6. march — music
  7. stem — to come from
  8. clip — a video
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. prune — to trim
  12. clip — to cut
  13. prune — to trim
  14. field — a subject
  15. squash — the sport
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. squash — to crush
  19. field — for sport
  20. lie — to recline
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. field — farmland
  24. lie — an untruth

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