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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — to trim
  4. race — humankind
  5. sharp — clever
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. race — the arms race
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. clip — for paper
  11. clip — a video
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. face — part of the head
  14. face — to point toward
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. clip — to cut
  18. face — to confront
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. race — a contest
  23. hand — in cards
  24. hand — help

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