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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. clip — a video
  3. prune — to trim
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. clip — to cut
  8. race — the arms race
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. bulb — for light
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. bulb — for light
  13. prune — to trim
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. file — a document
  16. file — a tool
  17. clip — for paper
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. sharp — clever
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. race — humankind
  24. race — a contest

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