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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. prune — to trim
  3. clip — for paper
  4. clip — a video
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. degree — an amount
  7. degree — from a university
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. prune — to trim
  10. row — to paddle
  11. branch — a division
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. net — in sport
  14. bat — the animal
  15. clip — to cut
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. row — a line
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. lie — to recline
  21. net — after costs
  22. degree — temperature
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. net — for catching

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