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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. clip — a video
  3. bound — certain
  4. stock — goods
  5. bound — obliged
  6. clip — to cut
  7. content — happy
  8. prune — to trim
  9. drill — a practice
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. stock — shares
  12. content — the amount
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. rest — what's left
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. drill — the tool
  17. rest — what's left
  18. drill — army training
  19. rest — a break
  20. bound — tied together
  21. stem — to come from
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. clip — for paper
  24. stock — a soup base

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