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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. current — happening now
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. current — electric
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. clip — a video
  7. current — of water
  8. cell — a phone
  9. clip — for paper
  10. pop — soda
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. pop — music
  15. prune — to trim
  16. toast — bread
  17. bear — the animal
  18. mine — for digging
  19. pop — to visit
  20. cell — in biology
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. clip — to cut
  24. bear — the animal

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