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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. clip — a video
  4. prune — to trim
  5. clip — to cut
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. club — for golf
  10. march — the month
  11. club — a group
  12. fall — the season
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — to drop
  16. club — for dancing
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. bark — to shout
  20. prune — to trim
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. march — the month
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. march — music

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