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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: wax · kick · roll · prune · court · fine · clip · track

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. court — of a king
  3. track — to keep track
  4. clip — for paper
  5. court — of law
  6. track — a path
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. roll — a cake
  9. prune — to trim
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. wax — to grow
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. track — a song
  14. court — for sport
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. kick — in football
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. roll — a list
  19. clip — to cut
  20. fine — high quality
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. fine — all right
  23. clip — a video
  24. kick — with a leg

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