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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. clip — to cut
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. kid — child
  10. prune — to trim
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — a video
  13. branch — a division
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. craft — boats
  19. craft — a skill
  20. sharp — clever
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. kid — to tease
  23. foot — a measure
  24. sharp — exactly

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