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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 · bear · foot · file · clip · perch · row · nail

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. bear — the animal
  3. prune — to trim
  4. foot — a measure
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. perch — the fish
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. clip — a video
  10. prune — to trim
  11. row — a line
  12. row — to paddle
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. clip — to cut
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. file — a tool
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bear — the animal
  20. file — a document
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. file — a line of people
  23. clip — for paper
  24. foot — part of the body

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