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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. clip — a video
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. craft — a skill
  7. root — the cause
  8. clip — for paper
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. root — of a plant
  12. craft — boats
  13. field — a subject
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. field — for sport
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. clip — to cut
  21. prune — to trim
  22. field — farmland
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. root — of a word

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