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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 120 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 black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. bound — certain
  3. club — for golf
  4. pass — a permit
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. prune — to trim
  7. clip — to cut
  8. rest — a break
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. rest — what's left
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. bound — obliged
  13. rest — what's left
  14. mine — for digging
  15. clip — a video
  16. prune — to trim
  17. club — for dancing
  18. bear — the animal
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. clip — for paper
  21. club — a group
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. bound — tied together

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