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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — to cut
  4. clip — a video
  5. prune — to trim
  6. sharp — clever
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. roll — a list
  9. field — farmland
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. field — a subject
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. roll — a cake
  14. mate — to breed
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. field — for sport
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. net — in sport
  19. prune — to trim
  20. net — after costs
  21. mate — a partner
  22. net — for catching
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. mate — a friend

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