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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 · clip · ball · wake · stock · band · pop · bear

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. prune — to trim
  3. band — a music group
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. clip — to cut
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. pop — soda
  8. clip — a video
  9. pop — to visit
  10. wake — a trail
  11. ball — a dance
  12. pop — music
  13. band — a ring
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. bear — the animal
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. stock — shares
  18. bear — the animal
  19. ball — a great time
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. stock — goods
  24. wake — before a funeral

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