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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: pop · present · calf · trunk · clip · shower · wind · prune

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. shower — to wash
  3. clip — to cut
  4. wind — moving air
  5. present — the time now
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. pop — music
  9. pop — to visit
  10. present — a gift
  11. pop — soda
  12. clip — for paper
  13. clip — a video
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. shower — rain
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. wind — moving air
  22. present — there
  23. prune — to trim
  24. calf — a young animal

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