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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: row · clip · calf · game · squash · prune · pass · pound

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. clip — a video
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. prune — to trim
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. row — a line
  8. pound — a weight
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. squash — the sport
  11. game — wild animals
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. prune — to trim
  15. clip — to cut
  16. pass — a permit
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. game — a match
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. squash — to crush
  21. clip — for paper
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. row — to paddle

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