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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. clip — to cut
  6. race — a contest
  7. clip — for paper
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. firm — steady
  10. race — the arms race
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. prune — to trim
  13. firm — a company
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. mark — a grade
  18. rush — hurry
  19. race — humankind
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. mark — a trace
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. clip — a video

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