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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: rash · march · arm · clip · cell · firm · mark · prune

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. prune — to trim
  4. march — music
  5. firm — decided
  6. clip — for paper
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. clip — to cut
  10. prune — to trim
  11. mark — a trace
  12. firm — steady
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. march — the month
  15. march — the month
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. mark — a grade
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. rash — a series
  20. rash — hasty
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. cell — in biology
  23. clip — a video
  24. cell — a phone

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