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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. pop — music
  3. clip — to cut
  4. swing — in golf
  5. pop — soda
  6. ground — a position
  7. spell — a short time
  8. clip — for paper
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. prune — to trim
  11. mate — a partner
  12. spell — magic
  13. pop — to visit
  14. spell — letters
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. mate — to breed
  17. mate — a friend
  18. dip — to sink
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. swing — to play on
  21. swing — music
  22. ground — the earth
  23. clip — a video
  24. ground — crushed

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