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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. court — of a king
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. fall — to drop
  6. spell — magic
  7. spell — letters
  8. fall — the season
  9. tube — a container
  10. clip — a video
  11. pound — a weight
  12. fall — to drop
  13. clip — to cut
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. court — of law
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. clip — for paper
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. spell — a short time
  20. prune — to trim
  21. tube — the underground
  22. court — for sport
  23. pass — a permit
  24. pass — to spend time

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