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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 120 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. prune — to trim
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. bass — low music
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. chip — for betting
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. clip — for paper
  11. chip — to eat
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. kid — child
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — to cut
  18. kid — to tease
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. prune — to trim
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. bass — the fish
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. plane — a tool

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