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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. clip — to cut
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. wake — a trail
  7. pitch — completely
  8. shower — rain
  9. sharp — clever
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. clip — a video
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. shower — to wash
  17. craft — a skill
  18. craft — boats
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. clip — for paper
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. prune — to trim
  24. bowl — a football final

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