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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: net · leaves · face · root · tear · clip · cap · prune

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. clip — to cut
  3. prune — to trim
  4. tear — to rip
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. cap — a lid
  7. net — after costs
  8. clip — a video
  9. prune — to trim
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. net — in sport
  12. root — of a word
  13. clip — for paper
  14. net — for catching
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. face — part of the head
  18. face — to point toward
  19. root — the cause
  20. root — of a plant
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — from crying
  23. cap — a hat
  24. cap — of ice

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