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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: ball · fork · spell · clip · prune · sharp · kick · swing

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. clip — a video
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. spell — letters
  7. swing — to play on
  8. fork — in a road
  9. ball — a dance
  10. swing — in golf
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. ball — a great time
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. prune — to trim
  15. spell — magic
  16. sharp — clever
  17. prune — to trim
  18. kick — in football
  19. clip — for paper
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. spell — a short time
  22. swing — music
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. ball — a round shape

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