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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 116 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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. march — the month
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. ground — crushed
  5. squash — to crush
  6. track — a path
  7. march — the month
  8. march — music
  9. mine — for digging
  10. object — an aim
  11. prune — to trim
  12. track — to keep track
  13. ground — the earth
  14. clip — to cut
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. ground — a position
  17. track — a song
  18. squash — the sport
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. clip — a video
  21. clip — for paper
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. object — a thing
  24. object — to protest

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