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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: clip · arm · coach · wake · prune · rule · staff · current

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. prune — to trim
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. rule — a law
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. current — electric
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. rule — government
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. staff — employees
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. wake — a trail
  14. clip — a video
  15. prune — to trim
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. current — happening now
  18. clip — to cut
  19. current — of water
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. staff — a stick
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. staff — employees
  24. coach — a trainer

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