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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. prune — to trim
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. spring — a coil
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. bass — the fish
  11. spring — of water
  12. clip — to cut
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. clip — for paper
  15. bass — low music
  16. bat — the animal
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. clip — a video
  19. spring — the season
  20. prune — to trim
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. mark — a trace
  24. prune — the fruit

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