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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 · wake · firm · patient · nail · content · prune · racket

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. clip — for paper
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. prune — to trim
  6. firm — decided
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. clip — a video
  11. content — the amount
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. wake — a trail
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. content — happy
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. firm — steady
  21. prune — to trim
  22. clip — to cut
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. prune — the fruit

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