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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. pitch — completely
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. wind — moving air
  7. last — final
  8. stem — to come from
  9. clip — a video
  10. last — finally
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. fork — in a road
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. prune — to trim
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. clip — to cut
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. prune — to trim
  22. last — to go on
  23. bark — to shout
  24. clip — for paper

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