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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. prune — to trim
  3. drill — a practice
  4. clip — for paper
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. fine — high quality
  7. fine — all right
  8. clip — a video
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. rule — government
  15. sharp — clever
  16. drill — the tool
  17. rule — a law
  18. saw — the tool
  19. drill — army training
  20. saw — the tool
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. prune — to trim
  24. sharp — with an edge

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