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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. prune — to trim
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. tube — the underground
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. clip — for paper
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. clip — to cut
  11. prune — to trim
  12. tube — a container
  13. clip — a video
  14. mine — for digging
  15. stock — shares
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. game — a match
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. stock — goods
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. game — wild animals
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. tube — in a tire

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