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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. rule — a law
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. clip — a video
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. clip — for paper
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. cold — an illness
  9. bear — the animal
  10. clip — to cut
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. bear — the animal
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. prune — to trim
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. rule — government
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. cold — not warm
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. rule — to rule out

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