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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: prune · fan · leaves · rule · patient · racket · clip · track

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. track — a song
  5. prune — to trim
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. clip — for paper
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. clip — to cut
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. prune — to trim
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. track — to keep track
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. rule — government
  21. rule — a law
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. clip — a video

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