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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. clip — a video
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. can — to be able to
  6. spring — a coil
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. field — farmland
  9. clip — to cut
  10. field — for sport
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. prune — to trim
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. spring — the season
  16. spring — of water
  17. can — a tin
  18. field — a subject
  19. dip — to sink
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. prune — to trim
  22. mark — a grade
  23. mark — a trace
  24. clip — for paper

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