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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. pop — to visit
  3. clip — a video
  4. pit — in a race
  5. drill — a practice
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. pop — music
  9. prune — to trim
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. clip — to cut
  12. drill — the tool
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. drill — army training
  15. scale — in music
  16. scale — size or range
  17. pit — a hole
  18. sharp — clever
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. pop — soda
  21. prune — to trim
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. sharp — exactly

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