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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · pitch · bear · plane · net · bark · saw

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. clip — to cut
  4. pitch — completely
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. saw — the tool
  7. net — in sport
  8. bear — the animal
  9. prune — to trim
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. plane — a tool
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. clip — for paper
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. net — for catching
  17. bear — the animal
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. saw — the tool
  20. prune — to trim
  21. net — after costs
  22. clip — a video
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. bear — to put up with

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