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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. wake — a trail
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. clip — for paper
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. prune — to trim
  9. clip — a video
  10. prune — to trim
  11. kick — in football
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. clip — to cut
  14. kid — child
  15. lie — to recline
  16. kid — to tease
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. lean — thin
  20. lean — to bend
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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