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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 120 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: prune · fork · squash · content · mark · staff · ground · clip

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. clip — for paper
  4. ground — crushed
  5. ground — the earth
  6. clip — to cut
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. mark — a grade
  11. mark — a trace
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. content — happy
  14. prune — to trim
  15. fork — in a road
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. squash — to crush
  18. clip — a video
  19. ground — a position
  20. squash — the sport
  21. staff — employees
  22. prune — to trim
  23. staff — employees
  24. content — the amount

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