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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. pass — a permit
  3. can — to be able to
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. cold — not warm
  7. prune — to trim
  8. clip — to cut
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. ground — a position
  11. prune — to trim
  12. cold — an illness
  13. ground — the earth
  14. can — a tin
  15. foot — a measure
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. clip — a video
  19. clip — for paper
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. can — a tin
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. ground — crushed
  24. leaves — of a tree

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