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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. land — ground
  3. land — a country
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. land — to come down
  10. prune — to trim
  11. bear — the animal
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. clip — for paper
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. prune — to trim
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. kick — in football
  18. clip — to cut
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. bear — the animal
  21. clip — a video
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. straw — dry grass

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