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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: clip · bat · prune · file · suit · mark · court · object

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. clip — for paper
  3. court — for sport
  4. suit — in cards
  5. prune — to trim
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. file — a tool
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. suit — to fit
  10. clip — a video
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. court — of a king
  13. mark — a trace
  14. prune — to trim
  15. suit — clothes
  16. bat — the animal
  17. object — a thing
  18. object — to protest
  19. court — of law
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. clip — to cut
  22. file — a line of people
  23. file — a document
  24. mark — a grade

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