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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: prune · can · bay · lean · kick · march · clip · row

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. prune — to trim
  3. march — the month
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. can — to be able to
  6. clip — a video
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. clip — for paper
  10. lean — to bend
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. march — the month
  13. row — to paddle
  14. prune — to trim
  15. clip — to cut
  16. kick — in football
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. row — a line
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. lean — thin
  21. can — a tin
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. can — a tin

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