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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. fall — to drop
  5. clip — to cut
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. sharp — clever
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. clip — a video
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. mark — a trace
  14. fall — to drop
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. bat — the animal
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. mark — a grade
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. prune — to trim
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. prune — to trim
  23. clip — for paper
  24. fall — the season

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