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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. cell — a phone
  4. clip — to cut
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. shower — rain
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. wax — to grow
  9. clip — a video
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. shower — to wash
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. prune — to trim
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. prune — to trim
  19. pound — a weight
  20. cell — in biology
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. clip — for paper
  24. deal — to handle

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