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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. clip — for paper
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. track — a path
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. clip — to cut
  8. track — a song
  9. cap — a hat
  10. cap — a lid
  11. prune — to trim
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. prune — to trim
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. pitch — completely
  17. track — to keep track
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. cold — an illness
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. cap — of ice
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. clip — a video

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