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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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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 · club · snap · cap · pound · racket · clip · track

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. snap — to click
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. prune — to trim
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. track — to keep track
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. clip — for paper
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. club — for dancing
  11. cap — a hat
  12. club — a group
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. clip — to cut
  15. track — a path
  16. club — for golf
  17. pound — a weight
  18. prune — to trim
  19. cap — of ice
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. cap — a lid
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. clip — a video
  24. track — a song

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