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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. prune — to trim
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. prune — to trim
  10. bound — certain
  11. cold — not warm
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. deal — to handle
  14. clip — a video
  15. bound — tied together
  16. clip — for paper
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. cold — an illness
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. wake — a trail
  21. kick — in football
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. bound — obliged

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