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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 · current · bore · mark · degree · band · prune · squash

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. prune — to trim
  3. band — a ring
  4. mark — a trace
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. clip — to cut
  7. squash — the sport
  8. current — happening now
  9. band — a music group
  10. squash — to crush
  11. clip — for paper
  12. current — electric
  13. degree — from a university
  14. bore — to tire
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. prune — to trim
  17. clip — a video
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. degree — temperature
  21. bore — to drill
  22. degree — an amount
  23. current — of water
  24. mark — a grade

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