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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. bear — the animal
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. ground — a position
  7. row — a line
  8. bear — the animal
  9. row — to paddle
  10. clip — for paper
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. clip — a video
  14. prune — to trim
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. ground — crushed
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. ground — the earth
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. clip — to cut

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