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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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. saw — the tool
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. saw — the tool
  6. clip — for paper
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. squash — to crush
  11. perch — the fish
  12. squash — the sport
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. clip — to cut
  15. clip — a video
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. wound — an injury
  18. prune — to trim
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. wound — an injury
  23. prune — to trim
  24. chair — a leader

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