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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. sharp — clever
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. clip — for paper
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. cap — of ice
  10. rest — what's left
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. rest — what's left
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. prune — to trim
  16. cap — a lid
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. clip — a video
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. cap — a hat
  21. prune — to trim
  22. rest — a break
  23. clip — to cut
  24. racket — for tennis

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