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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. ground — a position
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. cell — a phone
  5. clip — for paper
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. mug — a cup
  8. mug — a face
  9. clip — to cut
  10. prune — to trim
  11. clip — a video
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. prune — to trim
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. roll — a list
  18. ground — the earth
  19. roll — a cake
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. mine — for digging
  22. cell — in biology
  23. ground — crushed
  24. mug — to rob

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