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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 116 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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. present — a gift
  3. clip — for paper
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. present — there
  7. prune — to trim
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. branch — a division
  15. clip — to cut
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. prune — to trim
  19. snap — to click
  20. clip — a video
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. bulb — for light
  24. pitch — completely

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