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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. staff — employees
  3. clip — a video
  4. field — farmland
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. cell — in biology
  7. clip — to cut
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. staff — a stick
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. wound — an injury
  12. can — to be able to
  13. field — for sport
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cell — a phone
  16. prune — to trim
  17. can — a tin
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. wound — an injury
  20. can — a tin
  21. field — a subject
  22. clip — for paper
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. staff — employees

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