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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 · bear · staff · prune · swing · stem · rule · pitcher

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  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. rule — government
  2. swing — to play on
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. stem — to come from
  6. swing — music
  7. clip — to cut
  8. rule — a law
  9. swing — in golf
  10. staff — a stick
  11. clip — a video
  12. bear — the animal
  13. clip — for paper
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. prune — to trim
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — employees
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. bear — the animal
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. prune — to trim
  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