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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: board · bat · clip · rule · bear · present · prune · lean

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bear — the animal
  3. board — to get on
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. board — a committee
  8. present — there
  9. clip — to cut
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. rule — government
  12. clip — for paper
  13. present — a gift
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. prune — to trim
  16. lean — thin
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. rule — a law
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. lean — to bend
  23. present — the time now
  24. clip — a video

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