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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. clip — to cut
  4. spell — magic
  5. present — a gift
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. season — in sport
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — to trim
  11. shower — to wash
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. mark — a grade
  14. season — of the year
  15. mark — a trace
  16. clip — for paper
  17. spell — a short time
  18. shower — rain
  19. spell — letters
  20. present — the time now
  21. clip — a video
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. present — there
  24. calf — of the leg

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