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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 lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. clip — a video
  6. march — music
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. clip — for paper
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. root — of a word
  12. bear — the animal
  13. root — the cause
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. root — of a plant
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. bear — the animal
  21. march — the month
  22. march — the month
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. clip — to cut

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