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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. squash — the sport
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. prune — to trim
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. scale — in music
  10. clip — a video
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. court — of law
  13. squash — to crush
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. clip — for paper
  16. scale — size or range
  17. court — for sport
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. tube — a container
  20. clip — to cut
  21. tube — the underground
  22. court — of a king
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. pitcher — a jug

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