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

Word bank: present · foot · pit · wind · content · prune · clip · pass

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. present — the time now
  3. content — happy
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. clip — for paper
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. wind — moving air
  8. content — the amount
  9. pit — a hole
  10. clip — to cut
  11. present — a gift
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. pit — in a race
  18. clip — a video
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. prune — to trim
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. present — there
  23. pass — a permit
  24. prune — to trim

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