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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. prune — to trim
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. prune — to trim
  6. clip — for paper
  7. rush — hurry
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. march — the month
  11. stem — to come from
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. march — the month
  17. march — music
  18. mine — for digging
  19. clip — to cut
  20. lie — to recline
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. lie — an untruth

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