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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. scale — in music
  3. cap — a lid
  4. prune — to trim
  5. clip — to cut
  6. prune — to trim
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. clip — a video
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. hand — in cards
  11. race — the arms race
  12. track — a path
  13. cap — a hat
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. race — a contest
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. cap — of ice
  19. race — humankind
  20. scale — size or range
  21. hand — help
  22. clip — for paper
  23. track — to keep track
  24. track — a song

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