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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  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. lean — thin
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. shower — to wash
  5. object — to protest
  6. drill — army training
  7. object — an aim
  8. shower — rain
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. rush — hurry
  12. lean — to bend
  13. clip — for paper
  14. prune — to trim
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. season — of the year
  17. object — a thing
  18. drill — a practice
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. season — in sport
  21. drill — the tool
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. clip — to cut
  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