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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — to trim
  4. suit — in cards
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. clip — a video
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. staff — employees
  9. suit — clothes
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. squash — the sport
  13. staff — employees
  14. clip — to cut
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. mine — for digging
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. squash — to crush
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. suit — to fit
  23. staff — a stick
  24. clip — for paper

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