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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 120 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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. field — for sport
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. net — after costs
  5. field — a subject
  6. march — the month
  7. cap — of ice
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. prune — to trim
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — for paper
  12. march — the month
  13. season — of the year
  14. season — in sport
  15. lean — thin
  16. cap — a hat
  17. net — for catching
  18. field — farmland
  19. march — music
  20. net — in sport
  21. cap — a lid
  22. lean — to bend
  23. prune — to trim
  24. lean — to rest against

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