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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. clip — a video
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. root — of a plant
  5. court — of a king
  6. bass — low music
  7. root — the cause
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. court — of law
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. clip — for paper
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. clip — to cut
  16. bass — the fish
  17. root — of a word
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. court — for sport
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. stem — to come from
  22. content — the amount
  23. content — happy
  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