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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. prune — to trim
  4. clip — to cut
  5. bear — the animal
  6. clip — a video
  7. field — a subject
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. swing — music
  10. kick — in football
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. bear — the animal
  13. prune — to trim
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. swing — to play on
  16. present — a gift
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. field — for sport
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. field — farmland
  21. swing — in golf
  22. clip — for paper
  23. present — the time now
  24. prune — the fruit

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