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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: prune · cap · snap · tear · swing · club

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. prune — to trim
  4. snap — to click
  5. cap — a hat
  6. swing — in golf
  7. swing — to play on
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. cap — of ice
  10. club — for dancing
  11. club — a group
  12. cap — a lid
  13. club — for golf
  14. swing — music
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. tear — to rip
  18. tear — from crying

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