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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mine · clip · kick · tear · prune · spell · leaves · current

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. current — happening now
  3. current — of water
  4. tear — to rip
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. spell — a short time
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — for paper
  9. spell — magic
  10. kick — in football
  11. prune — to trim
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. tear — from crying
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. mine — for digging
  17. clip — to cut
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. tear — from crying
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. spell — letters
  23. prune — to trim
  24. current — electric

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