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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. degree — from a university
  3. prune — to trim
  4. spell — magic
  5. clip — to cut
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. cue — for pool
  9. kid — child
  10. cue — a hint
  11. clip — for paper
  12. spell — letters
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. cue — a signal
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. kid — to tease
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. craft — boats
  19. spell — a short time
  20. degree — temperature
  21. prune — to trim
  22. degree — an amount
  23. clip — a video
  24. craft — a skill

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