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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. deal — to handle
  3. clip — to cut
  4. mark — a trace
  5. mark — a grade
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. prune — to trim
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. clip — for paper
  10. field — a subject
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. spring — a coil
  13. field — for sport
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. field — farmland
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. clip — a video
  22. prune — to trim
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. spring — the season

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