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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. clip — a video
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. spring — the season
  5. prune — to trim
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. bear — the animal
  8. spring — of water
  9. sharp — clever
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. clip — for paper
  12. squash — to crush
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. squash — the sport
  16. clip — to cut
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. bear — the animal
  24. spring — a coil

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