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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. clip — a video
  3. scale — size or range
  4. scale — in music
  5. clip — to cut
  6. pop — soda
  7. prune — to trim
  8. race — the arms race
  9. prune — to trim
  10. court — of law
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. ground — the earth
  13. pop — music
  14. ground — crushed
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. ground — a position
  17. clip — for paper
  18. bore — to drill
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. court — for sport
  21. race — humankind
  22. race — a contest
  23. bore — to tire
  24. court — of a king

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