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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. stem — to come from
  4. scale — in music
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. saw — the tool
  7. lean — to bend
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. date — the fruit
  10. clip — for paper
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. prune — to trim
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. scale — size or range
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. saw — the tool
  21. sharp — clever
  22. lean — thin
  23. prune — to trim
  24. clip — to cut

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