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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. field — farmland
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. shower — to wash
  5. prune — to trim
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — for paper
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. field — for sport
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. pound — a weight
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. prune — to trim
  16. field — a subject
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. shower — rain
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. ruler — for measuring

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