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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. mate — a partner
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. bass — the fish
  5. present — there
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. prune — to trim
  9. face — part of the head
  10. bass — low music
  11. mate — to breed
  12. clip — for paper
  13. clip — a video
  14. present — a gift
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. pit — in a race
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. mate — a friend
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. face — to confront
  21. present — the time now
  22. pit — a hole
  23. clip — to cut
  24. face — to point toward

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