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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. clip — for paper
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. root — of a word
  5. prune — to trim
  6. march — the month
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. rush — hurry
  9. band — a music group
  10. court — for sport
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. march — music
  13. band — a ring
  14. clip — to cut
  15. root — of a plant
  16. root — the cause
  17. court — of a king
  18. court — of law
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. clip — a video
  21. march — the month
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. prune — to trim

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