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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. mate — a partner
  3. pass — a permit
  4. mine — for digging
  5. mate — to breed
  6. mate — a friend
  7. tear — to rip
  8. clip — to cut
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — from crying
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. staff — employees
  13. clip — a video
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. staff — employees
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. staff — a stick
  21. clip — for paper
  22. prune — to trim
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. prune — to trim

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