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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 · prune · charge · foot · dip · wound · wax · bat

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. foot — a measure
  4. wound — an injury
  5. clip — for paper
  6. wound — an injury
  7. prune — to trim
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. wax — to grow
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bat — the animal
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. clip — to cut
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. dip — to sink
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. clip — a video
  21. charge — a price
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. charge — electricity
  24. charge — in control

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