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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. track — to keep track
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. prune — to trim
  5. spell — magic
  6. spell — a short time
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. mine — for digging
  9. track — a song
  10. ground — the earth
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. clip — to cut
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. track — a path
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. ground — crushed
  19. spell — letters
  20. chair — a leader
  21. prune — to trim
  22. clip — for paper
  23. clip — a video
  24. chair — a professorship

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