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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 116 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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. clip — for paper
  3. last — final
  4. tear — from crying
  5. vault — a safe
  6. tear — from crying
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. track — to keep track
  10. firm — steady
  11. clip — to cut
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. track — a song
  15. prune — to trim
  16. last — finally
  17. prune — to trim
  18. pitch — completely
  19. firm — decided
  20. clip — a video
  21. tear — to rip
  22. track — a path
  23. last — to go on
  24. firm — a company

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