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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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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: pop · row · patient · bound · spring · prune · clip · nail

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. prune — to trim
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. spring — a coil
  5. clip — to cut
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. pop — soda
  11. spring — of water
  12. bound — certain
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. pop — music
  15. bound — tied together
  16. prune — to trim
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. clip — for paper
  19. spring — the season
  20. row — a line
  21. pop — to visit
  22. row — to paddle
  23. bound — obliged
  24. patient — a sick person

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