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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. clip — for paper
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. face — part of the head
  7. clip — a video
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. face — to confront
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. clip — to cut
  18. prune — to trim
  19. band — a music group
  20. cold — not warm
  21. face — to point toward
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. band — a ring
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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