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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.

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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: capital · bat · prune · plane · clip · drill · rule · foot

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. drill — a practice
  4. clip — to cut
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. capital — money
  7. capital — a city
  8. drill — army training
  9. drill — the tool
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. foot — a measure
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. prune — to trim
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. clip — for paper
  18. plane — a tool
  19. rule — a law
  20. bat — the animal
  21. rule — government
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. clip — a video
  24. capital — a big letter

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