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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. wake — a trail
  3. field — a subject
  4. staff — employees
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. clip — to cut
  8. wind — moving air
  9. mate — to breed
  10. bank — for money
  11. prune — to trim
  12. clip — a video
  13. field — for sport
  14. mate — a friend
  15. staff — a stick
  16. clip — for paper
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. field — farmland
  19. prune — to trim
  20. bank — for money
  21. mate — a partner
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bank — of a river
  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