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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 116 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. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. key — in music
  3. content — happy
  4. prune — to trim
  5. clip — for paper
  6. row — to paddle
  7. key — the most important part
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. row — a line
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. clip — a video
  13. key — for a lock
  14. stand — to bear
  15. clip — to cut
  16. march — the month
  17. prune — to trim
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. march — music
  22. content — the amount
  23. march — the month
  24. leaves — lets stay

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