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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 116 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. file — a tool
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. present — a gift
  5. prune — to trim
  6. rash — hasty
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. clip — to cut
  9. file — a document
  10. present — there
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. clip — a video
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. season — in sport
  16. file — a line of people
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. season — of the year
  20. present — the time now
  21. stem — to come from
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. prune — to trim
  24. rash — a series

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