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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. ground — the earth
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. prune — to trim
  6. clip — a video
  7. ground — a position
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. stand — to bear
  14. prune — to trim
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. clip — for paper
  18. ground — crushed
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. kid — child
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. kid — to tease

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