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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: current · trunk · wound · prune · club · clip · game · bowl

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. clip — to cut
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. club — for dancing
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. game — wild animals
  8. prune — to trim
  9. current — of water
  10. wound — an injury
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — for paper
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. wound — an injury
  15. prune — to trim
  16. club — a group
  17. game — a match
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. current — electric
  20. current — happening now
  21. club — for golf
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. trunk — of a tree

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