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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. prune — to trim
  5. clip — to cut
  6. stem — to come from
  7. clip — a video
  8. mine — for digging
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. clip — for paper
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. prune — to trim
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. scale — size or range
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. scale — in music

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