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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. field — for sport
  3. clip — for paper
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. clip — to cut
  6. prune — to trim
  7. rule — government
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. race — a contest
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. field — a subject
  12. race — humankind
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. scale — size or range
  16. rule — a law
  17. clip — a video
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. scale — in music
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. race — the arms race
  23. field — farmland
  24. temple — a place of worship

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