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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. prune — to trim
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. clip — for paper
  7. season — of the year
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. chair — a leader
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. perch — the fish
  13. stem — to come from
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. prune — to trim
  17. clip — to cut
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. branch — a division
  20. season — in sport
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. hide — to keep secret

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