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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. clip — a video
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. clip — for paper
  6. prune — to trim
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. tear — from crying
  10. sharp — clever
  11. clip — to cut
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. rule — government
  14. tear — to rip
  15. fine — high quality
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. fine — all right
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. prune — to trim
  21. tear — from crying
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. rule — a law

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