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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. prune — to trim
  3. clip — a video
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. present — there
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. clip — for paper
  9. pop — to visit
  10. sharp — clever
  11. perch — the fish
  12. hand — help
  13. clip — to cut
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. pop — soda
  17. prune — to trim
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. pop — music
  21. present — a gift
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. hand — in cards

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