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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 120 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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. sharp — clever
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. wind — moving air
  5. clip — a video
  6. prune — to trim
  7. row — a line
  8. pop — soda
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. prune — to trim
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. capital — money
  13. clip — for paper
  14. wind — moving air
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. capital — a city
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. clip — to cut
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. pop — to visit
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. pop — music

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