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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. field — farmland
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. squash — the sport
  6. face — part of the head
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. prune — to trim
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. face — to confront
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. squash — to crush
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. bear — the animal
  16. field — a subject
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. clip — to cut
  19. bear — the animal
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. clip — for paper
  22. clip — a video
  23. face — to point toward
  24. field — for sport

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