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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. clip — to cut
  4. bore — to tire
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. prune — to trim
  8. ground — crushed
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. kid — child
  11. plane — a tool
  12. ground — a position
  13. clip — for paper
  14. snap — to click
  15. kid — to tease
  16. bore — to drill
  17. object — to protest
  18. ground — the earth
  19. object — an aim
  20. prune — to trim
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. object — a thing

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