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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. clip — for paper
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. field — farmland
  5. bound — obliged
  6. pound — a weight
  7. field — for sport
  8. fork — in a road
  9. prune — to trim
  10. tear — from crying
  11. track — a path
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. clip — to cut
  15. track — a song
  16. track — to keep track
  17. clip — a video
  18. bound — tied together
  19. field — a subject
  20. tear — from crying
  21. prune — to trim
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. bound — certain
  24. tear — to rip

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