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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. rock — music
  3. capital — money
  4. rock — a stone
  5. prune — to trim
  6. capital — a city
  7. chip — for betting
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. clip — to cut
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — a video
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. shower — to wash
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. shower — rain
  23. chip — to eat
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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