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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. sharp — clever
  3. last — finally
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. clip — for paper
  6. pit — a hole
  7. prune — to trim
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. last — to go on
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. pitch — completely
  13. clip — to cut
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. prune — to trim
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. last — final
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. clip — a video
  24. pit — in a race

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