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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. craft — boats
  3. suit — to fit
  4. bound — obliged
  5. bound — certain
  6. prune — to trim
  7. last — finally
  8. craft — a skill
  9. last — to go on
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. clip — to cut
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. suit — in cards
  14. clip — for paper
  15. suit — clothes
  16. cold — not warm
  17. clip — a video
  18. last — final
  19. bound — tied together
  20. prune — to trim
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. chair — a leader
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. cold — an illness

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