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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 120 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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. clip — to cut
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. prune — to trim
  7. clip — a video
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. spell — a short time
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. clip — for paper
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. stand — to bear
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. prune — to trim
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. spell — magic
  21. stem — to come from
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. spell — letters
  24. stand — on your feet

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