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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: arm · rock · prune · hand · rule · clip · degree · pound

  1. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. rule — a law
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. degree — from a university
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. degree — temperature
  10. rock — music
  11. prune — to trim
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. clip — for paper
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. clip — a video
  17. prune — to trim
  18. clip — to cut
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. hand — help
  21. rule — government
  22. degree — an amount
  23. pound — a weight
  24. hand — in cards

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