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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. snap — to click
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. clip — a video
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. bank — of a river
  7. bank — for money
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. band — a music group
  12. bank — for money
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. present — a gift
  16. band — a ring
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. clip — for paper
  19. present — the time now
  20. present — there
  21. prune — to trim
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. clip — to cut

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