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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. bear — the animal
  3. scale — in music
  4. last — to go on
  5. clip — to cut
  6. clip — for paper
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. staff — a stick
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. scale — size or range
  12. last — finally
  13. staff — employees
  14. last — final
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. cell — a phone
  17. clip — a video
  18. staff — employees
  19. prune — to trim
  20. cell — in biology
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. prune — to trim

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